Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of this month of April. My prayer is that the reason for all that Jesus Christ came to do for humanity will be fully accomplished in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
As you probably know, this Sunday, many believers all around the world are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And though we are not given any direct instruction in the bible to set apart a day of the year to publicly or unitedly celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, it is not a bad idea for believers to do so. What will be wrong, however, is for us to let the celebration of His resurrection end with any such day.
Also, it will be wrong for us to be publicly rejoicing in Jesus’ resurrection when we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. And that, in fact, is where the problem often lies with many so-called believers in Christ Jesus. They are not bringing forth the fruit of Christ’s resurrection. Why? It is either because they do not know that their lives must be lived to accomplish the purpose for which Jesus died and was raised from the dead for them or because they just don’t care.
In any case, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection, we have no business celebrating it. In fact, our so-called faith in Him is questionable, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. That is because the bible says this to all of us who have believed in Him and identified ourselves with His death, burial and resurrection: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom 6:1-4NIV)
Not only that, it also says this to us: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2Cor 5:14-15NIV) Can you see that? Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in order to make it possible for us to live a new life. He died and was raised for us so that we will no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again.
So, if what He has done for us means something to us at all, then, we will stop living to please ourselves, or to please anybody else. Rather, we will start living to please Him. And is that what we are doing? Is that what I am doing? Am I living to please the one who made my new birth into the family of God possible? Or am I living for myself, my friends, my family, my community or some institution of my choosing?
Well, we must know that to live for ourselves or any other person or thing other than our Lord Jesus Christ is not to live at all. Really, it is to defeat the true essence of living. Doing so, of course, may make us feel happy, great or accomplished. But as I already said, it is as good as not living at all. And when a man does not live at all, he wastes his opportunity to live; he wastes his life and is not fit for any form of praise from God.
So, as you go this new week and as you probably join others in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, be sure that you are truly living to fulfil His purpose for your life. Otherwise, all you are doing can only amount to a waste. My prayer is that your life and activities in this world will not end up as nothing but a waste, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Have a lovely week.
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