6 He is not here; he has risen!
It is amazing how love drives you. Two women who loved Jesus came to the tomb to take spices to cover a dead body only to see that he has resurrected. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead…He is not here; He has risen.
I remember when Drew Nutter was real little…as in held him when he was born. I guess one of the benefits of getting old and hanging around for 22 years is that I get to see a lot happen in their lives. He was born. He was Born Again. Yesterday, I baptized his 10 year old (excuse the southern drawl) “growed up self”. Yesterday he helped me remember the resurrection and the promise that one event has in my own life. I shared in Christ’s death at age 11 when I became a believer and I will share in His resurrection on a day of God’s choosing. Drew and I have that in common now.
God still lives in the living. As that old hymn “He Lives” says in the chorus “…He lives within my heart…” I get to live this very moment knowing He knows me and by his indwelling presence empowers me to face every moment of my life.
I grew up in church. I know all about being a Baptist. I know the rules and all the legalistic stuff. However, I was trying to remember this morning when it was that I finally walked around the legalistic graveyard where those religious people with all their own dead bones had done their best to bury Jesus only to discover that HE LIVES. He died, was buried, and God resurrected Him so that I might LIVE now and forever. Religion finds it comfortable in a graveyard. Because of Christ – I can live!