GDLC Audio

When is our resurrected life the most difficult to embrace?  I think we’d all say, “When someone we love and care for dies.”  When we want to trust in God and believe He’s got a plan, but indeed, of all the challenges to living a resurrected life in Christ, facing the death of a loved one is the biggest challenge of all.  And yet, it’s not just a big challenge, living the resurrected life amid death is also a big blessing!  Our resurrected life means we worship a living Lord!  We worship the Lord who conquered death!  But we worship the resurrected Christ, and through His resurrection, we remember that we will rise too!  Perhaps it’s the biggest challenge to our resurrected life, but in the midst of death, we remember that Christ didn’t conquer death for Himself; rather, He conquered death for every believer in Him so that we might live the resurrected life both now and forever!  

When is our resurrected life the most difficult to embrace?  I think we’d all say, “When someone we love and care for dies.”  When we want to trust in God and believe He’s got a plan, but indeed, of all the challenges to living a resurrected life in Christ, facing the death of a loved one is the biggest challenge of all.  And yet, it’s not just a big challenge, living the resurrected life amid death is also a big blessing!  Our resurrected life means we worship a living Lord!  We worship the Lord who conquered death!  But we worship the resurrected Christ, and through His resurrection, we remember that we will rise too!  Perhaps it’s the biggest challenge to our resurrected life, but in the midst of death, we remember that Christ didn’t conquer death for Himself; rather, He conquered death for every believer in Him so that we might live the resurrected life both now and forever!  

The Bible gives us an important reminder in 2 Timothy 3:12 when it says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  Living the resurrected life in and through the Risen Christ, that’s not what you wanted to hear, right?  But it’s true.  If you take a stand on God’s Word and are sold out for the Risen Jesus…you will be persecuted, people will oppose you.  They won’t like the resurrected life and resurrected lifestyle the Bible proposes.  They won’t like the exclusivity of Christianity, namely, the Risen Jesus is the only “way, truth, and life”.  Nonetheless, we’ve been captivated by Christ and the truth of His life, death and yes, His resurrection, so much so, that we’d never deny Him or pull back or walk away!  We’re living our resurrected life even in the face of opposition!

The Bible gives us an important reminder in 2 Timothy 3:12 when it says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  Living the resurrected life in and through the Risen Christ, that’s not what you wanted to hear, right?  But it’s true.  If you take a stand on God’s Word and are sold out for the Risen Jesus…you will be persecuted, people will oppose you.  They won’t like the resurrected life and resurrected lifestyle the Bible proposes.  They won’t like the exclusivity of Christianity, namely, the Risen Jesus is the only “way, truth, and life”.  Nonetheless, we’ve been captivated by Christ and the truth of His life, death and yes, His resurrection, so much so, that we’d never deny Him or pull back or walk away!  We’re living our resurrected life even in the face of opposition!

Unfortunately, when we are brought to faith in Jesus, when we’re given the resurrected life through Him, we nonetheless retain our sinful human nature!  Baptism into Christ and into His death and resurrection takes away the guilt of our sin, but it doesn’t take away our sin.  We will be sinners until we aren’t, and that happens only when we die or Jesus returns.  As a result, we will stumble and fall in this lifetime while we’re living in and through the resurrected Jesus.  We will make mistakes and some of them will be whoppers!  Thankfully, Jesus, the Risen Christ, is with us to bring restoration, healing, and forgiveness, as well as the desire and the ability to say no to sin and yes to Him.  We rest in His forgiveness; even when living our resurrected life, we stumble and fall!

Unfortunately, when we are brought to faith in Jesus, when we’re given the resurrected life through Him, we nonetheless retain our sinful human nature!  Baptism into Christ and into His death and resurrection takes away the guilt of our sin, but it doesn’t take away our sin.  We will be sinners until we aren’t, and that happens only when we die or Jesus returns.  As a result, we will stumble and fall in this lifetime while we’re living in and through the resurrected Jesus.  We will make mistakes and some of them will be whoppers!  Thankfully, Jesus, the Risen Christ, is with us to bring restoration, healing, and forgiveness, as well as the desire and the ability to say no to sin and yes to Him.  We rest in His forgiveness; even when living our resurrected life, we stumble and fall!