By Rick Warren
“By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14 NIV).
Millions and millions of Christians around the world celebrate Easter
every year. But for far too many of us the story has become boring and
rote. We have the basic facts down. Jesus was arrested. He was
crucified. And three days later, God raised him from the dead.
Yet we miss something very important. We miss what turns Easter from a
one-dimensional holiday to a multi-dimensional, life-transforming way of
life.
We miss that the story of the Resurrection isn’t just Jesus’ story -- it’s our story as well.
You see, you are a part of the Resurrection. Jesus’ death and
Resurrection didn’t just prove there was life after death. The
Resurrection proves you can have life after death, that there’s life beyond your grave.
Jesus says, if you trust in him, death becomes a transition, not an ending point.
One day your heart will stop. That will be the end of your body. But it
will not be the end of you. God made you to last forever. That’s why
you often have a feeling there’s more to life than this. Jesus made this
amazing promise in John 11: 25-26: “I
am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live,
even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never
die” (NIV).
That’s quite a promise! Jesus proved he could do it by resurrecting
himself. Otherwise, we would have no reason to believe it. If Jesus
hadn’t died on the cross and been resurrected more than 2,000 years ago,
you would have zero chance of getting to Heaven -- no hope of the
afterlife and no eternal life.
The Bible says, “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14).
As Easter comes our way this year, that’s a truth to hang our lives
upon. It’s great news that Jesus rose from the dead. But what turns that
truth from black and white to living color is that one day -- if you
trust in him -- he will raise you from the grave, too.
That’s the promise of Easter.
Talk It Over
- Why do you think the story of Jesus’ Resurrection grows stale for many believers?
- How does internalizing “the promise of Easter” transform how you live your life?
- How can you help others understand how they can have eternal life through Jesus’ Resurrection this Easter season?
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