-This power, this surpassingly great power which is at work in the lives of those who believe in Jesus and which God desires to unleash to bless a lost and dying world - just how great is it? Where might one look to get an idea of how great it is? Look no further than the empty tomb. Yes, the tomb is empty, and death - that great enemy, dauntless and unflinching, the final and tragic common destiny of fallen man - death itself was dealt one massive decisive death blow. Death and taxes, right? Everyone says those are the only two inevitable things. Well in truth, only death is unavoidable. Or was. On that fateful day a long time ago in a garden paradise far, far away, that day of first disobedience, death entered in to the world and began to reign. The curse of all curses, this. All living things began to die, and all things began to break down, a process and a power which continued unabated and unchallenged until... Another fateful day, a Sunday not quite so long ago and not too far away from another garden. There in a sealed rock tomb lay a corpse, a dead body. And we must consider for a moment just what we are about to consider. Once life is extinguished, there is no bringing it back. No matter if it is a human being or a fly or a blade of grass, there is no power on earth, no power known to man that is able to produce life out of death. Death is the final, impenetrable and irreversible barrier, and life is a miracle, a wonderful impossible, completely beyond the capacity of man in every sense. Yes, man (and beast) may pro-create and multiply that which already lives, but to generate life out of death much less to create it ex nihilo (out of nothing) is a hopeless pipedream. Medical science aspires and tries desperately to accomplish this but to no avail. Sure, they are able to produce amino acids in a test tube, and clone some already living cells, and sometimes resuscitate one whose life functions have just stopped, but this is not life out of death. Man is able to plant a seed in the ground or in a womb, and it will bring forth life, but that is life which already resides in the seed itself, which came from the living one which gave rise that seed, all the way back to the very Life Giver Himself. And it was He Who brought the body of His Own dead Son back to life, not just to a life and a body that again break down and die but rather now life unending, eternally glorified, death defeated forever. Life out of death is the greatest Miracle of miracles - it requires a power beyond our comprehension and way beyond compare. This is the awesome wonder-working power which is at work in the life of every person who believes in Christ. It should be a total game changer, and Paul knew it, which is why he is asking for God to help us to know how great this power is. Even just tapping into and unleashing a tiny morsel of God’s power in my life is enough to get me and those I care about over or through whatever mountain we might be facing. With God, all things are possible. Do I know this? Do I believe this? God, help my unbelief...
No comments:
Post a Comment