(Easter Reflection)

Christ is risen!

That’s the declaration of Easter.

And for those of us who follow Jesus, it’s the best news we could ever hear.

But if we slow down for a moment…

…it’s also a very strange idea.

Because usually, when something dies—

it stays that way.

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The Strangeness of Resurrection

On this side of history, with the benefit of Scripture, tradition, and centuries of reflection, I can make my way to believing that Jesus really died—

and that through the power of God, He really rose again.

It doesn’t fully make sense.

It pushes against everything we observe about the natural world.

But then again…

God created the natural order.

So it stands to reason that He is not bound by it.

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”
John 11:25 (NIV)

The resurrection doesn’t ask us to understand everything.

It asks us to trust Someone.

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Standing in the In-Between

As I read the resurrection accounts this morning, I found myself going back again—

placing myself among the disciples.

After the crucifixion.
On that quiet, confusing Saturday.

Just days earlier, hope had been soaring.

Palm branches.
Crowds shouting Hosanna.
Expectations of a conquering King.

And then—

the cross.

Brutal. Public. Final.

Final? But wait, what about…?

Hope didn’t just fade.

It died.

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And yet…

Jesus had said something.

More than once.

“The Son of Man must be killed and after three days rise again.”
Mark 8:31 (NIV)

He had spoken of seeds falling to the ground and dying—so that new life could come.

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
John 12:24 (NIV)

I can’t help but wonder—

would I have remembered those words?

Would I have held onto them?

Or would grief have drowned them out?

Because when you’re standing in front of death, with gruesome images of a brutal execution still replaying through your mind—

it’s hard to imagine anything beyond it.

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And Then… There He Was

None of the Gospel accounts record the disciples saying:

“Oh—now we get it!”

No one seems to have been standing there, arms crossed, waiting for the third day.

Instead, we see something else:

Confusion.
Disbelief.
Fear.

Until suddenly—

there He was.

Alive.

Alive?? Wait, what?

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid… He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.’”
—Matthew 28:5–6 (NIV)

Or as it’s phrased in The Message:

“There is nothing to fear here.”

Nothing to fear.

Even in the face of death itself.

Because death, it turns out…

doesn’t always get the final word.

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When Dead Things Don’t Stay Dead

Fast-forward to my life today.

I may not have stood outside the empty tomb.

But I have experienced something of its power.

There have been seasons when my hope felt dead.

Seasons when peace felt out of reach.

Moments when even my faith felt like it had slipped away.

And yet—

in the presence of Jesus…

dead things don’t always stay dead.

Hope returns.

Peace resurfaces.

Faith rises again.

Not because I figured it out.

Not because I forced it.

But because resurrection is what Jesus does.

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He Didn’t Rise Alone

This is the part that still stops me.

Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead…

He pulled us into and through that resurrection with Him.

“God… made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”
Ephesians 2:4–5 (NIV)

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that… we too may live a new life.”
Romans 6:4 (NIV)

That means the resurrection isn’t just something that happened to Jesus.

It’s something that happens to us.

He didn’t leave us behind in death.

He dragged us into life.

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A Living Hope

I don’t fully understand it.

I can’t explain it in a way that satisfies every question.

But I have lived it.

And that’s why I’m still here.

That’s why I’m writing this today.

To remind you—

if something in your life feels dead…

it’s probably not be the end of the story.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
—1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

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A Final Encouragement

If you’re in a place where hope feels gone…

If peace feels buried…

If faith feels like it has slipped through your fingers…

Hear this:

There is nothing to fear here.

Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead—

is still at work.

Still restoring.
Still renewing.
Still bringing life out of what looks finished.

Same God.
Same power.
Still making all things new.

And if He can walk out of a tomb—

He can meet you exactly where you are…

and lead you into life again.

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