I’m no stranger to the hospital. In fact I’ve spent quite a bit of time there since my birth in 1989 (I know, I’m OLD). In the last two years I’ve been there three times. One time in particular that I went was for a dirt bike accident in which I received burns up and down my right arm, a small tear in my left hamstring and a minor concussion. In short the bike landed on top of me after I flew 30 yards in the air and I woke up because the muffler was burning my arm. I also happened to be by myself and had to drive out of 3 miles of sand dunes and unpaved roads. Not to mention that I blew a head gasket in my truck as I drove home and had to wait for a tow while in agony.
Why would I tell you this story of extreme stupidity? It’s to make a point that I have zero capability to care for myself. The next year I had a wakeboarding accident where I had to get 5 staples in my skull after gashing my head open. I’m a walking disaster of scars, accidents and failures.
The Resurrection Proves God Keeps His Promises
Yet despite these constant reminders that I’m incapable of caring for myself I act as if I can. The gospel tells of Christ’s sacrifice for us and his resurrection that cemented that He kept His promise and cares for us. Christ’s rising from the dead signified that He can do what we can’t, namely He can care for us while we can’t.
So much of my life I act, talk and live as if I don’t know that truth. My life is in God’s hands and He protects me from harm and provides the things I need. I know that, but my wicked heart chooses to feel differently. I get angry when my plans don’t succeed and flustered when I become stressed. I try to control everything around me so that I can achieve my goal.
With all of the grace and mercy that I’ve been shown I still turn my eyes on the things of the world that I desire: security, money, love, and fun. The cross should be centered in my thoughts. The fact that Christ has triumphed over death should affect my life so greatly that I’ll be noticeably different from the world I live in, but I’m not. I still lose my focus and try to take care of me.
Be a Doer, Not Just a Hearer
I have to daily check my heart and see if I’m acting as if there is something more important than being pleased every second of every day. I deceive myself too often into believing that I’m following the word. I think that I know enough of the word and I spend enough time reading my Bible that I know what I’m doing. Kind of like when your dad would tell you something or how to get a fix something and you’d reply, “I know” to everything he was telling you. To which a common response was, “well I guess you know everything”.
James 1:22-25
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
Well that tears my argument to pieces. Knowing that reading the word isn’t enough. You have to be a doer, which means actively choosing to perform based upon your beliefs, convictions or ideals. Knowledge truth isn’t enough. You have to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Living like Christ Rose from the Dead
The resurrection of Christ should drastically transform a life into not just believing the word, but also acting it out in their everyday life. Sometimes we get so focused on the here-and-now that we lose sight of what is really important. Christ did not stay in the grave He rose from the dead and gave us reason to live a new life. He gave us hope that we are throwing away if we don’t act in line with what Christ taught.
