RESURRECTION DAY?
1Peter
[MKJV] 1:1-9 Peter, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the elect sojourners of the Dispersion of Pontus, of Galatia, of
Cappadocia, of Asia, and of Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has
regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading,
reserved in Heaven for you by the power of God, having been kept through faith
to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time; in which you greatly
rejoice, yet a little while, if need be, grieving in manifold temptations; so
that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that
perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love; in
whom not yet seeing, but believing in Him you exult with unspeakable joy, and
having been glorified, obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of your
souls.
Of lately, the gloomy cold rainy weather fit
Jack’s mood perfectly as he, head down, countenance sour, dejectedly trudged to
work in the morning shadows.
Jack noticed a man walking his way,
recognizing an always happy fellow that attended the same church as he and his
family. Hunching his shoulders and pulling the brim of his cap lower, Jack
accelerated his pace.
Undeterred by Jack’s rude behavior, smiling
broadly, the man cheerfully greeted Jack by name, asking, “How is your
resurrection day going?”
Deliberately mumbling an unintelligible
reply, Jack rammed his hands deeper into his pockets and, head down, trudged
on.
As his workday wore on, Jack could not get
the odd greeting out of his mind.
Later in the afternoon, while staring
morbidly out the window at dark rainy weather, it struck him. Christ’ resurrection was not His alone. It
is not limited to something He did. It is not exclusively His to live.
Resurrection is the eternal abundant life that He gifts to all who will
receive, trusting Him as Lord and Savior.
For the believer, everlasting resurrection is
our assured present possession; but is it just as certainly our daily occupation?
“Does the Spirit of the one who brought Jesus back to life live in you? Then
the one who brought Christ back to life will also make your mortal bodies alive
by his Spirit who lives in you. So, brothers and sisters, we have no obligation
to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live.” (Romans GW 8:11-12) EBB4
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