April fools day is upon us again, and we will have to run
the gauntlet of practical jokes and pranks aimed to embarrass us or send us on
a fool’s errand. It's a tradition that
has gone on for hundreds of years, and is still going strong.
As Christians we are quite used to being made fools of – and
it was always so. Even two thousand
years ago most believed that the humiliating death of the ‘King of the Jews’ on
a brutal cross alongside common criminals was foolish. To suggest that God would actually come to
earth to die in such a way is just ridiculous!
Saint Paul spoke to the people of Athens about the story of
God, and he was listened to politely, until he came to the cross and the
resurrection of Jesus. This was just too
foolish for them, and they stopped listening. (Acts 17.15-32).
The story of the death and resurrection of Jesus is strange
to many in our society, but it's a story nobody would have made up, and there
is plenty of historical evidence that it actually happened – so what does it
mean for us?
Like those first disciples, the resurrection gives us a new perspective
on our lives, we have a new purpose in
life now and hope for life that goes on after we die.
The resurrection shows us that Jesus’ death on the cross was
not a tragic defeat but a victory over sin, death and Satan, ‘But God raised
him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its hold on him’ (Acts 2:24).
The resurrection confirms that Jesus truly is the Son of God
as he claimed to be. It gives us a
confident hope for our own bodily resurrection, rather than a vague wish that
everything will be alright.
The resurrection ensures that we can know the reality of Jesus’
risen life today. Millions of Christians
around the world share this foolishness with us, and are proving by their way
of life that Jesus Christ is alive and lives in them, and in us.
We look forward in April to explore the meaning of the
resurrection for each of us, and to celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost. God hasn’t finished with us yet!
He’s still working in us!
He has
given us his Holy Spirit! And he will
bring us finally to completion, to resurrection, to glory and to be with him
for ever!
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