Devotional article for The Greybull Standard
and the Basin Republican Rustler
No getting over it
Christ is arisen. His Church celebrated it a couple of weeks ago, and she is still celebrating it. Truth is, His Church never stops celebrating that Christ is arisen. It seems that she just cannot get over it; she hasn’t been able to for nigh on to two thousand year.
Christ is arisen. We know this from those to whom He revealed Himself, who wrote down their testimony about it. And their testimony we can trust, for they had nothing to gain from lying about it. In fact, most of them lost everything in life and suffered painful deaths for their testimony, that Christ is indeed arisen. It seem that they could not get over it, either, that Christ is arisen.
Christ is arisen. And nothing matters more. For it proves that God approved of Him. It means that He is who He said He was, the Son of God. Otherwise God would not have raised Him from the dead. And that means that all that He said is true, that He came into the world to suffer and die for the salvation of sinners, and that we are that, sinners, and that full and complete forgiveness for all sin is won for us all, and given to us all with His promise.
Christ is arisen; arisen indeed. And that means that God Himself has accepted His sufferings and death, as a sacrifice sufficient to outweigh and make up for the sin of the world. The price has been paid, in full and in abundance. Otherwise He would not have been raised from death who died for our sin. And we would still be in our sin. But as it is, we are not, for Christ is arisen.
Christ is arisen. That means that God approves of Him, and He is the Son of God, and all He said must be true.
And that, in turn, means that nothing is more important than to know Him and His truth; nothing is more important than to live in His true Word and worship; nothing is more important than that is Him we live with in our worship life, in accordance with His truth, as His truth is revealed to us in their testimony to whom He entrusted His truth; nothing is more important than that our faith and our worship, and the preaching and teaching of our church, that it is all true and accurate, which it will only be, when it is in accordance with Holy Scripture.
And why would we want it any differently? Christ is arisen, and alive and at work in His Church, through His Word of His love, and what His love has done for us. He promises us that we shall not perish forever in Hell for our sin, as would otherwise be good and right. Instead we shall live and be with Him in His Kingdom. He said so, and told His Apostles to tell us. And what He said is true. For Christ is arisen.
And with His promise of salvation, His salvation is actually given to us, freely and for nothing, out of His goodness and grace alone, as we hear His promise and take it to heart; and He Himself makes us do, by the power of His living love, which is in His Word. And with that, the new life He has won for us has already begun in us, the eternal life in His glorious presence.
I guess that would be the reason why His Church just cannot seem to get over it, that Christ is arisen: because there just is no getting over it. His live is eternal life, and it is the life of His Church, and His Christians. And there is no getting over it, that Christ is arisen.
Pastor Jais H. Tinglund
Grace Lutheran Church, Greybull
Zion Lutheran Church, Emblem