‘He is not here, but is risen!’ Luke 24:6 NKJV
Christ, the founder of Christianity, was the only man capable of making an appointment beyond the grave and turning up to keep it. Jesus told His disciples, ‘After I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’ (Matthew 26:32 NKJV) And He did. If you visit the graves of those who founded the great religions of the world, you will find that they are still occupied. But if you visit the grave where they laid Jesus, you will find that it is empty and the words of the angels still echoing, ‘He is not here, but is risen!’ Those words turn every Christian burial into a celebration. Jesus promised, ‘Because I live, you will live also.’ Eventually you will die of something; the question is: how can you die right? There are two correct answers to that question: (1) By preparing in advance. It was a truly human tombstone that bore the inscription, ‘I expected this, but not just yet.’ Here’s how you prepare for death. ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ (Romans 10:9 NKJV) (2) By fulfilling your life‘s assignment. Jesus said, ‘I have glorified You on earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.’ (John 17:4 NKJV) In the final audit you will stand before God and He will ask you, ‘What did you do with the gifts I gave you? Did you fulfil your assignment on earth?’ In that moment, nothing will be more important than how you answer that question.
SoulFood: Gen 22:1-18, Matt 27:33-56, Ps 22, Is 53 (Good Friday)
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2012
