How do you proclaim Christ’s sacrifice in every moment that you breathe? At the end of each day, how have you made each thought and action a testament to the death and resurrection that is the foundation of your faith—the bedrock of everything in your life that is true?
As Christians, we observe a sacrament that proclaims Christ’s death until he returns. We proclaim Christ’s death, but only because it is a necessary precursor to his resurrection. As Christians who participate in the Lord's Supper, we understand the terrible and cold power of death. Yet we also know that Christ has forever conquered death and has thus set a never-ending precedent. Death and pain are certainly real, but for the believer, they must always be followed by resurrection because of Christ's role on the cross. Belief in this sequence is the core of our faith—if resurrection does not follow death then Paul says we are to be pitied more than all men.
How do we show our belief in this infinitely important principle? I propose something that is simply radical.
When you look at your world, do you look through the lens of a risen Christ? When you face troubles—and you surely will—do your thoughts declare a resurrected Lord? Do you truly believe that the good in your daily life has conquered the bad? Have you achieved that theologically-inspired balance?
When you look at your world, do you see a Thomas Kincade painting? A world in which only light and flowers exist, in which every home is cheerful and warm and welcoming? I hope not, because that is neither our world nor the world of the Scriptures. We cannot ignore struggles, for we proclaim Christ’s death as the sacrifice that saved our souls. Where were the flowers, where was the softly glowing sunlight at the cross?
But when you look at your world, neither should you see only darkness and despair--a world in which marriages end in divorce, in which bills are unpaid, in which good people die. The story cannot stop there, for we also believe in resurrection.
When you look at your life, when you sit down at the end of your day, do you tend to focus on the despair in your life? On the things that are wrong about your day, about your situation in life? Or do you break from the customary attitude of this world, choosing to see all death only through the light of resurrection? Our world is badly broken, but it still bears traces of beauty. God is still at work today, in hundreds of small ways. He whispers his resurrection through a friend’s encouragement, through the sun lighting up the clouds, through the joy of good food, through soul-thrilling music… in every moment that tugs at your soul with its wonderful rightness.
A Christian who truly understands Christ’s sacrifice cannot help but be an optimist. He does not blindly deny the presence of darkness, but he intentionally believes in the ultimate triumph of light, and that doctrine manifests itself through the things on which he allows his mind to dwell.
I challenge you to act upon the theology that you profess. Intentionally live your life—and look at your life—through the power of Christ’s resurrection. At times it takes a tremendous effort of will to discipline your mind into a resurrection mindset. But try, just try, to avail yourself of God’s grace, to believe that our lives are ultimately characterized by the power of resurrection, not by the power of death.
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