Regardless of one’s participation level, the holiday called Easter seems to catch the attention of many in our communities: Easter egg hunts, Easter meals and for some, it is a time to go and worship God. What makes Jesus so influential? Throughout man’s history, there have been countless people who have died for mankind; but unlike Jesus Christ, their story ends at the grave, leaving only memories. Jesus Christ, who during His ministry stated that “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), would prove such a claim through His own resurrection. A resurrection witnessed by so many (1st Corinthians 15:5-6). There is power in His resurrection!
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11
Think about what is said in that verse. The Spirit whom raised Jesus from the dead lives inside every Christian. Paul, as he writes to the church in Ephesus, talks about “the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20), a power “which works in me mightily” he would say to the church in Colossae (Colossians 1:29). As we learn from Romans 8:11, His resurrection speaks to our resurrection as well. Paul would say, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1st Corinthians 15:54). But that power that “dwells in you,” works in you now! As a “guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption” (Ephesians 1:14), those with the Spirit can “have peace with God” (Romans 5:1) knowing “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). We can and should walk confidently knowing that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Today, many around the globe will ponder the resurrection of Christ. But how many miss out on the fact that the power which raised Him from the grave, can also be at work in them today. May the Spirit of the resurrected Christ help you this day to live victoriously!
Dennis