Alive

It is a brand new year and the lessons in church today were all about setting goals! Some that you can put a timeline on, and some that are there to work on everyday. When I think of this project, it is definitely one of those that does not have a time line - as the end of it is so far away I cannot even imagine what it will be like to finish, but I can make a goal to write more.

A critic once said that the Bible is so popular not just for the good things it teaches, but also for the story. There is a man who does so many good things, is wrongfully killed in a dramatic way, and then miraculously comes back to life! A little more serious than this man might have been in making his remark, I would like to say that this is the good news of Christ - that we might become alive again through him.

The triumph of Christ's conquering death is declared by witnesses in Luke 24:23 which says:

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

Later he shows himself until his apostles, unto several others and to the believers in the Americas. All bear witness that he was killed and yet was alive again in a perfected body in all his Glory. Because he conquered death, we can know that death is only temporary for us as well.

The other way that Christ brings us to life is found in 1 Corinthians 15:22:

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

While the first definition of being "made alive" is more literal with our physical bodies, this other definition for how Christ brings us to life has to do with spiritual death.

There is a reality of death inside of each of us that we have all felt at one time or another. It is when we sin, or when sorrow sets in or depression. When we can feel something go out inside us or turn hard as stone only to crack and fall apart. These dark feelings are the death of soul that this fallen world brings upon us - either through our own actions, the actions of others or simply our Earthly condition. Just like it is necessary for all of us to die physically so that we might be brought back to life in a perfected form, it is necessary for us to die inwardly so Christ can bring us back to life more perfected then before.

This process makes sense when I write these words, but living it is another story. It is easy to be confident when looking back at a trial I've managed to get through and can now say "Oh it wasn't that bad, Christ was there the whole time. I just needed to hang in there."

Living what you know to be true when your heart just doesn't feel it is hard. At times my belief is so obvious, like feeling the sun on my skin it is a reality that changes how I feel about everything. Then there are times when my heart does not feel it - like I've been walking in a room that suddenly had all the lights go out. I cannot see the light or the furniture and I have no proof within myself other than the memories. It is then that my belief becomes a decision between what I am currently seeing and what I know is real from my past experiences.

These feelings of being dead inside are always temporary. Life comes through Christ - it always has been that way and it always will. If you do not believe me, try developing a real relationship with him. You will see how dead your life was before and will never be able to turn back without regret.