Risen to Raise

Today’s reading: Matthew 28:1-20

‘But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”’ - Matthew‬ ‭28:5-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We live in a world that is in desperate need of this truth of the resurrection. Hate. Abuse. Injustice. Sexual sin. Racism. Poverty. Violence.  Division. We don’t have to live very long to start asking God the question, “When are you going to start doing something about all of this?” We pray with the martyrs from Revelation 6, “How long, O Lord?”

Yet God has already done the most significant work. He sent his Son to die and rise for the world, all the broken and dysfunctional. Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead to prove he was the Son of God, the long-expected Messiah. He also rose with a view to someday raise us. This happens initially when we first become Christians by faith, and it will again occur one day in the final resurrection of the dead.

We will be fitted with new bodies.

Bodies not prone to selfishness or pride or any wear and tear.

Until then, may we walk by faith in this life, living resurrected lives that dispense hope to a dark world in desperate need.