DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- HE IS RISEN!

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – "HE IS RISEN"

"But he (the angel) said to them, 'Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.' " (Mark 16:6)

These three words – "He is risen" – are the definitive words that separate Christianity from all other religions. Without them, Christian faith would be no different than the rest of the world's belief systems. It would be a religion of "Do the best you can and hope for the rest." But these three little words make all the difference in the world. The great statement of Christians faith is found in II Corinthians 15:3-4 – that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Paul went on to say that if Christ is not risen, then our faith is empty and futile (vss.14-17).

The unregenerated mind can not understand or accept something so outlandish – that someone would rise from the dead to live again. But to the Christian who believes that with God all things are possible, there is no problem believing it.

The Apostle Paul ran into this human-centered philosophy when he preached to the people at Athens in Acts 17. The Epicureans and Stoics called Paul a "babbler" because "he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection" (vs. 18). The margin reading for babbler is seed-picker, or an empty talker.

This is the conclusion of Paul's sermon: "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" (vss. 30-31).

When they heard the words, "resurrection of the dead," some mocked, while others wanted to hear more, and some believed.

Resurrection does not fit into the thinking of a non-Christian. But to us who believe, it is a source of great comfort and strength to know that our Savior is alive today. Because He lives, we shall live also. Jesus showed that Death is not the end of the road – it is only a gateway to a new, everlasting life of joy and peace. It is not yet Easter, but we can always celebrate the fact that our Savior lives!!!!

Love, Dad