Meditations in the Time of the Virus

Jesus Is Alive

There is so much we mean when we say this. It is so far beyond the platitudes and cliches you hear. "So and so" lives on (in your heart, in your memory, or something else they will say). But Jesus is alive in a whole different way. He is not "off somewhere as a spirit," and He is not just in your memory or in your heart. Jesus is alive, really, truly, fully alive. He acts, He hears prayers and He answers them. He has His own plans and He is carrying them out.

The disciples encountered the living, alive Jesus and everything in their lives was changed. Mary Magdalene's tears were stopped. The two going to Emmaus learned wisdom and hurried back to Jerusalem to tell. Peter who denied Jesus out of fear boldly stood up to the ruling council. Paul preached the faith he once tried to destroy. This is not because they held a memory in their hearts. It was because Jesus is alive and He showed them His glorified, risen body. They knew He had beat the stuffing out of death.

That meant:
Jesus could keep them through any danger.
Jesus could keep His promises to raise them from the dead.
Jesus could share eternal life with them.

So:
Who should they be afraid of? All those verses that say things like "what can man do to me?" -- they were absolutely true.
They had something no other religious group had -- and it was something people desperately needed.

Jesus is alive. He is still the same Jesus. Still inviting people to live forever. Still giving forgiveness through His own cross, his own suffering, and His own blood. Still carrying out His plan of bringing people from every nation and language into His Kingdom and into His family.

Right now in our lives -- Jesus is alive. He is the living one. Right now we are confined to our houses most of the time. Jesus is with us. He lives.

There was a conversation down in Springfield Sunday (Liam is our grandson):
Liam: "Can I have my prison gifts now?"
His mother: "Your Easter basket?"
Liam: "My prison gifts"
His mother: "Liam, I hope you never go to prison."
Liam: "I already am in prison."
Yes Liam, even if you were in prison the Living Lord Jesus would be there with you. Bars can't keep Him away, because He is Jesus.

A bit more on the serious side, this came through the internet from a Pastor friend, John Drosendahl:
"My praying is powerless. The Answerer, however ..."
This is because " Jesus is Alive!" He holds all the power of God and He has promised to do all things for the blessing of those who know Him, who believe in Him and who know His love shown to us in the cross and in Rising on Easter morning.

Jesus is Alive. He acts in our lives. And often enough He surprises us.

Lord Jesus, You are the living Lord. You have eternal life and You hold our future in Your hands. Guide me day after day, steer the path of my life and lead me to the blessings that only You can give. Help me to understand that no other blessings can compare with those I have in You. And no problems are worth comparing with the riches I have in You. Amen.
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