Thanks to Bob Puckett for sharing this: Easter Thought The resurrection of Jesus was simply God’s unwillingness to take our No for an answer. He raised Jesus, not as an invitation to us to come to heaven when we die, but as a declaration that He Himself has now established permanent, eternal residence on earth. The resurrection places Jesus on this side of the grave--here and now--in the midst of this life. He is not standing on the shore of eternity beckoning us to join him there. He is standing beside us, strengthening us in this life, The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is not that we shall die and go home with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner brothers with him. ..... On the morning of the resurrection, God put life in the present tense, not in the future. He gave us not a promise but a presence. Not a hope for the future but power for the present,... Jesus’ resurrection is not to convince the incredulous nor to assure the fearful, but to enkindle the believers. The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not in the empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not in the vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship, Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church. ... He is risen because we’re full. We are the evidence of the resurrection. He is risen not because the dead rise, but because we are alive. And we’re doing the same things that he has taught us to do. Clarence Jordan The Substance of Faith P 26
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 21:56:14 +0000
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