But in raising Jesus from the tomb, God has changed death forever. Death no longer has the last word – instead the last word is the new life of Christ. Death is no longer the scary monster that waits in the shadows for all of us – instead death is the gateway to the kind of life that happens next. The plan is now: birth, life, death, new life. And so, we are not limited to the life that we can see in front of us, however miserable or short or meaningless it may seem. There is new life to come – new life to prepare for in this life – new life to look forward to.
And that new life permeates the life we live now in Christ. It changes the way we think about ourselves and about each other. It brings hope to us, whenever we see what looks like death to us – whenever our world seems more and more deadly and more and more intent on spreading death.
It brings hope for life in our relationships with each other. We lose our taste for dealing death to each other, and instead choose to follow Christ’s example of dealing life. We give of ourselves to others in ways that enrich them, and in ways that enrich us. We forgive others and we receive their forgiveness, rather than holding and receiving a grudge. We live in the peace of Christ with those around us. We receive the new life that Christ promises through our relationships.
The new life in Christ also brings hope for life in our relationship with God. We release the guilt that crushes us from the sins we have committed in the past, and we accept God’s forgiveness through what Christ has done. We follow God’s guidance for our lives, as the instructions of a loving Father, hoping to see his children live more fully, and avoid the actions that deal death to ourselves. We receive the new life that Christ promises through our restored relationship with God.
And the new life in Christ brings hope for eternal life in God’s kingdom. We no longer fear our own deaths as an ending, but eagerly anticipate the resurrection that will come to us. As our fear of death is removed, we can release the illogical things we do in the attempt to avoid death, to concentrate on living life abundantly now. And we take a different perspective on the loss of loved ones, knowing that this loss is not permanent. We receive the new life that Christ promises into eternity.
Gracious God, we thank you for raising your Son, Jesus Christ, away from the place of death, and into eternal life. We trust in Christ’s victory over death, and the promise of life it brings to us. Grant that we may share this hope of life with those around us, in Jesus’ name, amen.