"My Redeemer Liveth"

The resurrection life

His resurrection made such a difference for Jesus. Have you ever tried to imagine what some of the ramifications of His resurrection were for Him? Here you have just two of the more obvious ones: He was no longer bound to conventional means of travel, and He no longer bore the burden of His mission of redemption.

We can live our own resurrection life! Of course we still have to travel by conventional methods and enter rooms through normal means. But what should be some grander results of the resurrection life in us?

Freedom from guilt. Those who have in them the resurrection life have been set free from sin and the condemnation of it. The peace that Jesus gives is incomparable because it is a full, genuine peace born of forgiveness. This peace comes from facing our guilt and having it taken care of by Jesus.

Freedom to love. Before the resurrection life of Jesus became mine, I was my own biggest hindrance to love. The next big hindrance was the very people I was supposed to love. But when that new life came, it brought me a freedom to love by a power and a love far greater than my own. Now Jesus wants to manifest His resurrection life through me in a love for others without regard to how they are or how they treat me.

Freedom to serve. The resurrection life is a life of service. Sure, the old life was also a life of service, but now the object of our service is different. The old life concerned itself with serving self; the resurrection life primarily serves Jesus, which naturally results in serving others. Because of the resurrection life I have been set free from the task of serving myself to the blessing of serving my Lord and my neighbor.

Because He lives . . .

We have hope. Most people know how it works to survive a week (or month or year) on the basis and in anticipation of something. Hope keeps us going . . . until that special something takes place at last. Then that hope does us no more good. (If that hoped-for thing is not realized, then we have a different batch of problems!) The hope of the Christian is of vastly greater reach because of the resurrection of Jesus. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Corinthians 15:19).

We are justified. Few people know how I have struggled against self-pity, lust, cynicism, and materialism. I am so thankful for God's forgiveness. But the Lord's resurrection offers me much more! Listen: "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). Jesus rose from the dead so that our sinning life can gradually give way to a victorious resurrection life!