Resurrection

New coaches are often brought to a team in hopes of resurrecting a hurting or weak program. The coach will likely implement a new approach to whatever has been the source of the team’s problems, and the rebuilding process gets underway. After a while the team may regain hope for a better season and the hope of brighter days. However, no matter how good our team becomes, we will be disappointed if set our eyes on a successful season. That’s because life itself on this earth is often more characterized by “losing seasons” than by great victories. Therefore, Christians learn to put their hope in brighter days that transcend life here and now.

If we set our hopes on the things of this life, we will inevitably be disappointed. Our efforts may bring us and our teams brief moments of enjoyment and some truly spectacular victories, but in the end, these things won’t matter at all. This is what the Apostle Paul wanted his readers to understand. If we believe in Christ, we must believe in His resurrection and the promise of eternal life. Without that, we have no reason for hope. If there’s no eternity, then the moment we lose a loved one, he or she is gone from us forever. If there is no eternity, then the older we get the closer we get to the archenemy of the human race, which is death (1 Co 15:26). If there is no eternity, then suffering would be pointless, lacking any lasting purpose (Rm 8:18). If there is no eternity, then this world is all we have.

Jesus, however, gave us a promise. Those who believe in Him will live, even though they die physically (Jn 11:25). For believers in Christ, death is not the ending, and suffering is not a cruel or pointless hoax. Thankfully, there’s a far better world coming than the one in which we live here on earth (Rv 21:1–8). The resurrection of Jesus proclaims that a rebuilding will occur, that a believer’s ultimate destiny is not one of loss and failure. God did a new thing in raising Christ from the dead, announcing to the world that there is hope. “Because I live you will live too” (Jn 14:19).