It appears to me that God is stripping away any illusion of security that we might have as Americans at the beginning of the 21st Century.
- We have dysfunction in our political process where both of the major political parties are more concerned about conserving their power than they are about doing the right thing. In this election year we are bombarded by attack ads or insipid campaign slogans that are nearly devoid of the power to resolve the issues facing us.
- We have an ever growing threat of Islamic terrorists who think that by blowing themselves up with innocent people around them they will achieve distinction in the afterlife.
- We have dysfunction in our corporate leaders who think that it is acceptable to earn millions of dollars in bonus for destroying the earning ability of hard working men and women by announcing a “restructuring” which eliminates their jobs.
- We have “Christian” leaders who repackage the pop psychology in a “Christian” wrapper. They make millions of dollars selling books and giving conferences that offer superficial help but no lasting change. They are like doctors who put bandaids on a cancer.
- We have racial tension that is causing upheaval throughout our country. We should be long past judging a man or women based on the color of their skin but we are not.
I’m not arguing that times are worse than they have ever been. Even a casual reading of the prophets in the Old Testament provides ample evidence that the Nation of Israel faced many of the same issues.
Into similar social, political and moral chaos, God spoke these words through Isaiah:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6–7, ESV)
The answer does not lie within political reform or building a wall around our country or religious reform or tolerance training. The answer lies in the one who came to fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy. The answer lies in Jesus of Nazareth.
It is Easter Sunday, 2016, the day when Christians around the world celebrate The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
About The Resurrection, the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). The Resurrection validates that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that he is the one who will one day set this world right.
The Resurrection tells me that it is safe to find my security in Jesus, even when everything around me is messed up.
The Resurrection tells me that God has the power to accomplish what he purposes.
The Resurrection is like a down payment which holds our destiny in lay-a-way until Jesus comes back to complete the deal.
If ever I felt the need to appreciate and appropriate the meaning and the power of The Resurrection, it is today. I thought that perhaps you would also benefit from this meditation as we consider the empty tomb.
May we move forward with the encouragement that the empty tomb demonstrates that the evil and chaos will not win out.
The Resurrected Jesus will return and fix the mess we’ve made.
He is Risen!