Romans 6:5. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
United in his resurrection.
Do these words actually mean anything to you? Do they bring you any sense of hope, joy, peace, comfort? Or is the resurrection something you hear about every week in church that has become meaningless? Maybe coming back from the dead feels like just another movie plot to you. Just another trope.
But the resurrection is the center of all we believe. Not just Christ’s resurrection, but also our resurrection with him. As Paul says, Jesus’ resurrection is the greatest apologetic for our faith. If it is not true, we are pitiful. If it is true, so is everything else, including our resurrection WITH Christ. In fact, we might say that Christ’s resurrection is meaningless for us without our union to his resurrection.
It’s so important for us to see that Christ’s resurrection was not his abandonment of the world. It was his total commitment to it. He is raised to be forever human. Forever one of us. Forever our brother. And this physical Jesus will rescue the entire physical world. Christ’s resurrection is not just the means whereby he understands and commiserates with us. It is the means by which he brings us, by his Spirit, into his own life, his own resurrection. As Paul says elsewhere, we are one spirit with him. And this union with Christ guarantees our own future resurrection. What Paul calls metaphorically the firstfruits and the harvest, the root and the branch.
Romans 11:16. If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
This is why we can be resurrected one day just as Jesus has been – because we are just as holy as Jesus. If the dough is holy, the whole lump is holy. If the root is holy s are the branches. If Christ is holy, so is the Christian.
I get it. It’s hard to say this out loud – I am just as holy as Christ. But give it a try. Say it. “I am just as holy as Christ.” Think about it. Why was Jesus raised from the dead? Because he was actually holy, not sinful. So if you are promised a resurrection like his what must that mean? That you are holy like him. That’s the only option. Unless we have an unholy God.
Christian, you need to connect these dots. If I will be raised someday, I must be holy today. I must be heaven ready right now. Whether you realize it or not, you need this truth of the resurrection today and every day.
You need it for your hopelessness.
You need it for your woundedness.
You need it for your stress.
You need it for your grudges.
You need it for your failures.
You need it for your crushed dreams.
You need it for you FOMO.
You need it to repent.
When I realize that I will live forever, all the idols I am creating here seem so much more foolish and futile.
Repent.
You need it to rest.
When I realize that I will live forever, the wrongs done against me seem smaller. My wounds don’t have to be my identity. My pain, though real, is not my destiny.
Rest.
To live is Christ unites you to a death like his and a resurrection like his. It also unites you to a rest like his. Christ’s resurrection means he is running the world. Your resurrection with him means you don’t have to.
You: Think:Has the resurrection of Jesus become meaningless to you over the years?
You in Christ: How does the promise of our resurrection with Christ prove our holiness in Christ?
Christ in you: How can the truth of your co-resurrection with Christ bring rest to your life today?
Prayer: Father, I know in my head what the resurrection means, but bring it down to my heart so that it actually brings true repentance and rest to my life. Amen.
To Live is Christ 