Jesus’ Resurrection Affects How We Live Every Day

Did you have a good Easter? I hope it was a great time of worship and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Even if you had a wonderful time you're probably ready to move on to the next thing on the calendar (Mother’s Day is coming up). Many of us will just stop thinking about the resurrection until next Easter. I’m not ready to do that. The resurrection is so important to our faith that we need to fully grasp its meaning. Let me ask you,

How does the resurrection of Jesus affect the way you live?

This isn’t a trick question.

Does the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus have anything to do with how you are going to live your life today?

If you’ve believed in Jesus then you know His resurrection is the proof we will have eternal life. That’s important. But that’s what is going to happen when we pass from this life to the next, hopefully a long time from now. The Bible tells us the resurrection is meaningful for us each day. I would state it this way, [Tweet "The meaning of the resurrection is the resurrection gives life meaning."] Let’s see what the Bible says. There were some people in the church at Corinth that didn’t understand the resurrection so Paul devoted an entire chapter to teaching about it. 1 Corinthians 15 In verses 1-11 Paul restates the Gospel of which the resurrection is a critical part. Then in verses 12-19 he states the meaning of the resurrection in a series of negative statements. He starts this way in verse 12:

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”

Some people believed in Jesus but didn’t believe in a resurrection. In the next few verses Paul goes on to say if that were true, if there is no resurrection of people, then the following must be true.

7 Things That Are True If There Is No Resurrection

1. Preaching about Jesus is worthless v. 14
2. We have an empty v. 14, and futile v. 17 faith.
3. We’re lying about what God said v. 15.
4. We’re still in our sins v. 17.
5. All who have died have simply perished v. 18.
6. There’s nothing after this life v. 19.
7. We are to be pitied for empty beliefs v. 19.

Paul took their argument, that no one is going to be raised, and carried it to it’s logical but hopeless end. But Jesus did rise from the dead. So the opposite of all of these statements is true. Let’s restate them as positives.

7 Things That Are True Because of the Resurrection of Jesus

1. Sharing our faith has meaning and purpose.
2. Our faith has substance and is useful.
3. We tell people the truth about what God has said.
4. We’re freed from the penalty and power of sin.
5. The dead are waiting for their resurrection.
6. We are headed for a better life to come.
7. We have reason to rejoice in what we believe!

Every bit of hope we have, all joy and every positive expectation in our lives is because of the resurrection. I would say that is practical! I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment or question below.