Why Does It Matter?
Several years ago I had lunch with a young local business man and aspiring politician. He asked me, “What gets you up in the morning?” Meaning, what am I passionate about, what gets me excited?
“The resurrection of Jesus.”
He looked at me funny. Like, “Here we go. Religion speak.”
I explained. If Jesus really came back from the dead, it’s the most important event in history. If he didn’t, I’d find little meaning in life.
“Really?” He asked.
“If I live well for 80, 90 years, so what? I’m still going to die. Then what? If Jesus didn’t come back from the dead, then all of this religion stuff that Christians hold on to is just a lie, and we’re playacting, wasting what little time we have on the earth.
“But if Jesus did come back from the dead, then eternal life is not only possible, but available. And eternity is a lot longer than 80 or 90 years” (I was already in my 50’s when I said that).
Jesus taught a lot of good things that make this life better. But he also told us that if we follow him, we’re going to take a lot of hits for it in this life.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25).
It’s Jesus resurrection that gives us life beyond the grave. When he came back from the dead, he brought with him eternal life. His death on the cross provides for our forgiveness, but his resurrection from the dead provides eternal life. When we are attached to Jesus in faith, we receive his resurrected eternal life. It’s what the most famous verse in the Bible is about, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
It’s his resurrection that not only proves he is who he said he is, but it also defeats death for everyone who trusts him, granting them eternal life in heaven.
That’s why it’s the one thing that gets me up in the morning. I’ve devoted my whole life to getting the word out, because it is the most important thing for people to know.
It’s the most important thing for you to know!
It really happened. It changed history.
Let it change you!