The hope of our resurrection is renewed with every Easter Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us the same hope of our own resurrection.
Of course, none of us were there on that first Easter morning to witness when Jesus returned from the dead. There is no video of it.
Yet, we believe.
That’s what we have…. belief.
That’s all we need - just to believe. Belief is the main foundation of the resurrection.
Only believe.
It can't be that easy, can it?
Religion will tell you that you need more than just to simply believe. Religion creates standards to legalize belief. I once belonged to a church which created an atmosphere where you felt you had to meet a certain doctrine to believe.
Yes, I will admit to you that it is a leap of faith to believe. But you won’t have every question answered and you won’t understand everything.
Only believe.
Even one of the disciples who was with Jesus and heard his promises in person still needed proof to believe that he had risen from the dead. (John 20:24-29) When Jesus gave Thomas the proof he needed, he said that blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Then when Jesus was on his way to pray for Jarius’ daughter, he was stopped to heal a woman along the way. When the word reached them that Jarius’ daughter had died, Jesus wasn’t stressed that He was going to be late, He simply said “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” (Mark 5:35-36)
You can't accumulate enough Theological Degrees to qualify belief. People assume that education will answer their questions and prove or disprove all of this that we believe on Easter.
When Jesus was late arriving to heal Lazarus, Martha ran up to him and was distraught that Jesus was late, but He told her: "I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me will live, even if they die and if they believe in me, they will never die." (John 11:25)
Then Jesus preceded to call Lazarus from the grave.
THAT is the belief we have in Jesus.
Years ago, I had the incredible opportunity to see the empty tomb in person. I know some would debate whether or not it was the "actual" location or other reasons not to believe it, but I can tell you that my visit to the empty tomb didn't change anything in my belief in it. Even though I saw the empty tomb, that's not the reason I believe. Seeing isn't believing. Experiencing is believing.
Without hope in the resurrection, we live miserable lives. The Message version addresses this in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20:
Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ.
And face it - if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ - sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.
If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves.Believing isn't a passive thing. You either believe or you don't. Belief requires an effort. A decision.
Say what you will about me, I choose to believe.
