The Resurrection Makes a Difference for paper May 24

In the very early church they demonstrated how the resurrection made a difference in their lives and thinking.  “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” Acts 4:32–34

This text shows what a difference it made in the lives of the first Christians. And what a difference! People sold their property and gave it to the apostles for relief of the needy.  Today that would be hard to believe, and do!  In today’s thinking, “What’s mine is mine” is much more common and natural and believable. In today’s world, you’re on your own. Maybe the government will help, but don’t expect others to bail you out on a continuous basis.

That kind of thinking is easy for us to understand. We do it all the time, and not only us. So does everybody else. Satan’s first temptation to Eve was to replace God with herself, to become like God. It wasn’t true, but ever since, the devil has been repeating this lie, and human beings have been falling for it. They define their own values, make their own rules, and do what pleases themselves, including with their possessions. They—or better, we—make gods out of ourselves and so out of our possessions too. I earned it, I bought it, and I’m going to do what I want to with it. It’s mine. Mine is one of the first words children speak after mommy and dada. Mine? But that, too, is a lie. What we have in this life depends entirely on the goodness and gifts of God—our talents, our opportunities, our successes—all result from what God has done for us,

“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.”  Deuteronomy 8: 17, 18

That is the difference that the resurrection makes! Our Lord’s resurrection overcame the penalty for sin,  death,  because his crucifixion overcame sin itself. He unselfishly, took the sin of all upon himself—starting with Eve, then Adam, and then every last one of their descendants, including those yet to come, including you and me. But now Jesus is alive—just ask no-longer-doubting Thomas. Our God and our Lord is alive! Sin has been paid for; death has been overcome. That is the difference, everything is different now. Because of the resurrection, we know that Jesus’ promise of our resurrection is true.

Our heavenly Father takes his perfect, tender loving care of us; he provides for us, and at the end of this life, he welcomes us into the next, the paradise about which Jesus spoke to that penitent thief on the cross. The devil may still be lurking, and, for sure, sin rears its ugly head. But neither the devil nor sin can take away what we have because of what Christ revealed in his resurrection: a God who loves us.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8: 38, 39

All these things that Christ has accomplished for us in his resurrection, his overcoming death, our death, paying the penalty we justly deserve for our sin, assuring us of our own resurrection and assuring us that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God is why those first Christians could respond as they did to the needs of others.  Christ had freed them from the sin of self-interest. God had filled their hearts with his love; and that love overflowed to others, and “there was not a needy person among them”.

Of course, we live in different times. Here perhaps, because God has so greatly blessed our nation, physical needs, though not absent, are not so pressing. But in addition to the basics, people still have needs: respect, companionship, purpose, security. How good are we at supplying things like these to others in our community? Since God takes care of us, we can take care of others, giving not only our money but also our time, energy, talents, and—more fundamentally—our love to one another in response to what Jesus has done for us.

These first Christians have given us an example that we cannot ignore—not now, not ever. The resurrection means something. It changes lives. It changed their lives. The resurrection makes a difference in the lives of those who believe. So what about you?

Blessings