It seems to me most people think of resurrection in terms of death, as in the end of life. In this way of thinking, resurrection is the way we escape the finality of death. It is the doorway into life eternal. As a result, we only talk about resurrection at Easter and at funerals. Resurrection has little to do with our life today and everything about the future.
This kind of thinking about resurrection is man-centered. It's about us. And it is short-sighted. It is about going to heaven when we die. And it is impoverished. It misses the fuller truth about resurrection.
Resurrection lies at the heart of the spiritual life. Or, rather, death and resurrection lie at the heart of the spiritual life. Death and resurrection is the pattern of the spiritual life.
This pattern is based on a spiritual principle woven into the very fabric of life itself. Jesus expressed it this way: "Unless a grain of when falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). All of creation proclaims this great truth: death leads to life (resurrection). Until a seed dies, the life potential within it remains dormant. But when the seed dies, that life potential is unleashed. The "death" of the seed begins a process that ultimately leads to an abundance of fruit. The single seed is multiplied many times over. In nature, the pattern of death and resurrection is called planting and harvest.
This pattern is true in all of life, not just in nature. Without death, there is no resurrection - in any dimension of life. Death and resurrection is the pattern of growth, physically and spiritually. An infant crawls on hands and knees. It is an effective means of getting around. Except there is a better, more effective, faster way of getting around. It's called walking. An infant moves from crawling to walking through a process of learning to stand, balance, and take a step. The infant dies to crawling in order to walk. As long as the infant is content to crawl, she will never learn to walk. When she is willing to leave crawling behind (die to crawling), she discovers the freedom found in walking. This pattern of leaving one stage behind in order to move into another, fuller stage is repeated throughout life. We die to one stage of life in order to move to a higher level of life.
Our problem is we fear death - not just dying at the end of our life, but any form of death. We don't want to turn loose of what is. of what is familiar, of what is comfortable. We hate change of any kind. It is a form of dying. By holding onto what is, we miss what could be. We miss the new life God always brings out of any dying. In other words, we miss resurrection as a daily occurrence, as a way of life, as the way to grow.
Death and resurrection is designed into the very fabric of life itself because it lies at the heart of who God is. It is the pattern of the Godhead. It is the way of self-giving love. As Paul said of Jesus, "though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:6-11). Death and resurrection - it was and is the pattern of the Godhead. And it is the pattern of being a follower of Jesus. Paul exhorted the Philippians, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).
Death and resurrection - it is the pattern of the spiritual life. We only make progress on the spiritual journey when we recognize and embrace this pattern for our own lives.
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