With Easter 2013 now a memory, and our Access Easter Series
complete, it would be easy for us to get
back into our normal routines with little consideration for the continued
effect of the resurrection. In fact, this was exactly the point of a
conversation I had with one of my sons on Easter Sunday evening. He walked up
to me and proclaimed, “So Resurrection Day is officially over.” I responded almost without thinking, “Well it
actually isn’t over yet.” It wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that my
response shocked him.
You see this is the way many of us view the resurrection…as
a one-time past event. Yes it’s true…Jesus’ resurrection was the pinnacle
miracle of His life on earth. He triumphantly rose from the dead, just as He
had promised. He overwhelmingly demonstrated His rightful place as God over all
while showing that the curse of sin and death had been successfully paid. But
wait there’s more…and this is a BIG DEAL with immense ACCESS.
Christ’s resurrection paves the way for all believers to
look forward to a resurrection. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20-21, “But in
fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead.” This is a beautiful statement about Christ being our
“firstfruits.” The Biblical idea of firstfruits communicates the pattern of the
first crops in a field. If the field produces crops when first seeded then
there is great confidence that the field will produce crops in the future.
Christ was the first and basis of resurrections to come. For Christians, because
Jesus rose from the grave, we have the hope and expectation that the
grave…death, is not the end for us. We can look forward with great anticipation
to the day that we can be raised like Jesus, to a glory we can only dream of…Easter
isn’t over yet…it’s only begun.
