Easter happened, now what?

Is there anything different? Another Easter has come and gone and life has seemed to continue on as always. Our lives are busy once again with the daily rigmarole of our work and family lives. The Royal wedding has captivated half the world, while the NFL draft in a Lockout scenario has captured the other half. People are still endlessly debating whether Obama is a natural born citizen, and my beloved Chicago Cubs are back to their losing ways. The question that hauntingly lingers within me is “has anything changed?”

In my position I have an opportunity to talk to many people who are struggling with different kinds of addictions, and the question for them is “does the resurrection of Jesus change anything?”

Looking out at the world of greed where billions of dollars cannot be shared agreeably among NFL owners and players, many who live in poverty are left asking “has the resurrection of Jesus changed anything?”

Those who are lost, lonely, struggling, or sick are all left wondering “does the resurrection of Jesus change anything?”

The truth about the resurrection of Jesus Christ is much greater than we have given it credit. Many understand that the resurrection of Jesus means we will be resurrected with him when we die. But what if I told you there is a more immediate consequence to this miraculous centerpiece of Christianity? What if I told you that Jesus is ready to resurrect your life right here and now?

I am not saying that Jesus is going to immediately lift you up into heaven. What I am saying is that many of us are dead as we speak. Many of us are living dead lives. Jesus died and rose to life, but we are still living the dead life that we have always lived and nothing has changed.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

Too often we observe the resurrection of Jesus thinking that it has no real bearing in our present life. We live our life waiting to be set free, waiting to be healed, and waiting to have new life. The problem with all this waiting is that Jesus has already laid the groundwork so that we may experience these things now.

We have become like Israel waiting on the banks of the Jordan too afraid to grab the Promise Land that God has already given us. Now I do not want to be accused of saying that if you have Jesus you will be successful in whatever you do, or that you will never be sick, or that you will never have trouble. The truth is you will have trouble in this world (John 16:33).

Life does not become easy because of the resurrection, but life does become different. Everything we were and everything we thought we knew about the world is put to death, and with Jesus we have a new way of living, a resurrected way of living. We become a new creation the old is gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Easter changes everything. We are being called to be changed, to be made new, to be resurrected. If you find your life the same, it is because you haven’t give it over to Jesus. If you find you are still dead, it is because you haven’t been resurrected through faith. If you find yourself in the same old situation of addiction, loneliness, and failure you haven’t cried out to the savior.

May you begin to live your life new! May you weed out the dead parts of your life and experience the new resurrected life that Jesus has given you here and now!