Hope embodies a driving force that enables you to overcome great adversities and withstand rigorous demands. Hope empowers you to endure treacherous circumstances and defy overwhelming odds. Hope is the essential element within the deafening chaos of hurt, turmoil, and strife. Hope is the extra strength that catapults you toward light when the darkness consumes your very existence. Hope is the fuel that allows you to endure life's heartache because hope promises you better days. Hope is the last ounce of strength that calls you to continue to fight when everything and everyone else demands you to surrender. Hope is the flickering light that is not merely an emotive encounter nor an undefined energy, rather hope is a Person—that Person is Jesus Christ.The work of the cross has no bounds as the saints meditate upon the grandeur and galore of the atonement. The beauty of the cross, where justice meets grace, is the centerpiece of redemptive history and the fulfillment of God's promise to restore, redeem, and reconcile a people for His Name. The cross is the apex of the biblical narrative, and yet without the resurrection the cross can be boiled down to martyrdom of a moral teacher. The resurrection is the game changer and the substance of the outworking of the cross. The resurrection is the victory that grants validity to the death of the Savior. The resurrection is the impending hope that points toward the ever growing reality of God's perfect creative order. Without the resurrection there is no Gospel, and without the cross there is no forgiveness.
We Will Rise:
While instant gratification runs rampant in our current cultural context, the New Testament writers press a message of endurance and steadfastness saturated in the work of Christ. The charge for the community of saints is one which embodies perseverance, dedication, and a relentlessness toward holiness accompanied by suffering which will never be in vain. All of this is connected to the ultimate reality that the resurrection of Christ awards the church access into the power source which transcends life circumstances and sets a gaze upon the greater truth. To this end Jesus could say to His followers: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12). Subsequently, the Apostles poignantly declared the decree to "rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed" (1 Pet. 4:13). Adequate Fuel:
The truth circulating around the empty tomb speaks of death's inability to restrain the absolute power of Christ. This allocates an overwhelming amount of confidence to the body of believers in the midst of severe affliction, and appropriates entry into greater works through radical obedience in the life lived in full abandonment for the sake of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul insist that due to the reality of His resurrection the followers of Christ can "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58). The hurts and toil of the church are never wasted in the purposes of Christ Jesus.
Promised Life:
The resurrection of Christ points to the reality that there is more than what this life has to offer. It predisposes the community of saints to God's intended purposes while informing us that the riches of this world were never meant to fully satisfy our innate desires. The Apostle Paul asserts that "[what] is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42-44). Paul is pointing toward a greater reality that is beyond the suffering that must be endured for the sake of Christ. The end goal, ultimate pleasure in the glory of God, becomes a lofty incentive for the regenerate believer.
The hope Paul clings to is that we have been "buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). The newness of life is granted to us now on this side of eternity, but the fullness of that life will be embodied at the resurrection of the dead. In glory, when we see Him face to face, the pains of this world will melt away in comparison to the satisfying pleasure in uniting with God through the blood of Christ.
Pressing On:
As the church continues to be enamored by the culture's ploy toward a man-centered theology, the robust doctrine of the resurrection grants the community of saints an ever-growing richness in the vastness of God's infinite might and unwavering love. In an age where prosperity is the idolatrous device which lures men toward empty religion, God is stirring the regenerate believers toward the foundational work of salvation in the person of Christ. Our hope is not cemented upon shiny coins nor hallow material, but rather upon the salvation that is mounted through the work and person of Christ. His return will be the finished restoration of God's creation and the eternal reign of His Kingdom.
The resurrection of Christ reminds us that regardless of what season we find ourselves in today; whether that be an ugly announcement of cancer, a lost of a dearly beloved family member, a battle against severe depression, or the political uncertainty of our nation; that the eternal weight of glory that has been etched in the fabric of our existence will be fulfilled at the return of Christ. Better days are promised and better days are coming. Whatever darkness we may face on this day, we are reminded that we can endure because the tomb is empty and the Lord is risen! Happy Easter!
____________________________________________________________________________
McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months). He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years. He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity. He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.
No comments:
Post a Comment