knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. [2 Corinthians 4:14]
for those of us who are in Christ, this scripture stands as a reminder of that which has already been written upon our heart. time and responsibilities may have allowed for the holy branding to fade and callous, but paul – knowing this – appends this critical reminder to verse fourteen.
it is not too rudimentary for the corinthians or us to be reminded of our promised resurrection. for if the reality of our resurrected life in Christ is forgotten to us, all is lost. we may be a fanatic, a zealot, a peacekeeper, a comforter, and ideologue – but never an ambassador on Christ’s behalf if this truth is lost.
our hope for resurrection does not rest in abstract thought, but in the historic reality of God’s power enacting in the human affair of death; to raise his blessed Son to eternal glory. it is God who gives us the privilege to die with Christ, and it is God alone who with mercy unfathomable, resurrects us in Christ. our best laid plans, our craftiness, are to no avail.
rejoice today for the fact that it is not Christ alone who was raised, but you yourself – assuming you have believed and continue in that love delivered to you. rejoice further for the fact that we are not raised alone, but as one bride, and with Jesus! our King, brother and friend, the person who above all else holds our affection like water in his hands, he is calling us as one body to himself to enter God’s presence forever.
without this reality, our faith is nothing but vanity; but with it, we have a hope that is unutterable and inconceivable to a world that is – in all things – most characterized by death eternal. i encourage you today to set your hope fully on the reality of our resurrection in Christ; it is not an idle wish, the Holy Spirit is already at work within us to put to death all that is worldly in us and prepare us to ascend to God as Christ ascended.
seek Christ today, the world gropes about in the dark for what it does not know, we reach out to what we do know. no one ascends to God on his/her own, only by an association of love with Christ can we attain the inexpressible joy that awaits us.
we have not attained it yet, but we do not lose heart because of the love that is in us.
~ graham bachman