‘For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
(Romans 6:5)
I am giving thanks to God today for the gift of resurrection. This is another profound blessing that is ours along with our salvation in Christ.
I find that as the years go by, the more I treasure this gift. Yes, it has to do with the fact that every year brings with it the deaths of people that I know, sometimes those I’m quite close to. In the past couple of years, both of my parents have died. I mourn their passing, but I am comforted and joyful through the tears because of this gift.
Resurrection is the gift that proclaims to this fallen world that death does not get the last word. But it is not just a spiritual escape from this fallen world. The joy is not just in that those who die in the Lord “go to heaven.” No, that is the temporary waiting room. That is not a complete victory. Death still has claimed their bodies.
But resurrection is an undoing of death itself. Just as Christ was raised from the dead on Easter morning, so shall we be raised when the resurrected Christ reappears is glory. We look forward to a bodily resurrection beyond the ravages of the fall, with no disease or weakness or sin.
Resurrection reminds me that God can bring blessing out of the worst of tragedies. He did that in the death of Jesus. What can be worse than the death of Son of God? And yet this became the source of eternal life and salvation for all. In the same way, our deaths, and the deaths of our loved ones in the Lord, will be transformed into resurrection when we are raised from the dead.
Thanks be to God for this gift!
What are you thankful for today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.
Leave a Reply