The Resurrection of Jesus is the Answer to Everything

This post follows up on my previous post where I stated that the resurrection of Jesus is the answer to everything. Here are some ways this is true:

• Resurrection shows that the death of Jesus was not a shameful defeat, but was a glorious victory over all the forces of evil, over sin, death, and the devil.
• The death and resurrection of Jesus is God taking responsibility for what happened to His creation.
• Though there are many skirmishes yet to be won, the resurrection of Jesus is the inauguration of the rule and reign of God on earth and in our lives.
• The call of the resurrection is for me individually, and for the people of God as a whole, to continue the work which Jesus began, and to implement the victory of God in the world through suffering love. “The cross [and the resurrection] is not just an example to be followed; it is an achievement to be worked out, put into practice” (Evil and the Justice of God, 98). The result of such living is resurrection.
• The resurrection of Jesus creates a vision for the future of people dying to self, and being raised to new life for others. It allows us to envision a community of healing and hope, beauty and creation, love and peace, and then take self-sacrificial and Spirit-empowered steps toward accomplishing that vision.
• The resurrection is a summons by God, not just to believe in Jesus, but to live in a new way in God’s new world, which we can not yet fully see.
• The resurrection of Jesus is call to do justice, and love mercy, and protect the weak and vulnerable. It calls for education, medical care, and economic generosity, not because it is mandated from above by a government, but because it springs out from within us, from hearts filled with faith, hope, and love.
• The resurrection stops us from asking what is best for me and for my town and for my country, and starts me asking what is best for you, for your town, and for your country.
• Resurrection allows us to freely forgive others and forgive ourselves, because God has already forgiven everything. It means that we forgive, whether or not people accept it, and whether or not they ask.
• The resurrection of Jesus removes all fear and guilt, leaving only love. It releases debt, it releases burdens.

In the end, we see that the resurrection of Jesus is not only the answer, it is also the catalyst, or the springboard, by which God intends to make you and I the answer. While God’s solution to evil is the resurrection, this is only true because God’s solution to evil is you and I living out the resurrection.

We, by living out the resurrection, are to reverse the curse.

We, by living out the resurrection, are to be a blessing to the world.

This is why the resurrection of Jesus is found on nearly every page of the New Testament. When you allow the resurrection to get a hold of you, it changes everything. It is an all-consuming call to live the in the Kingdom of God here and now.

So, how are you living the resurrected life today?

For more on this, see NT Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, chapter 3 and The Challenge of Jesus, chapter 6.