The Story...

We are bombarded by news bytes and tidbits throughout the day. We live in the information age. Just checking email, or logging into “whatever-your-space-might-be” yields headline after headline. This morning ’s titles demonstrate the plethora of themes: “Big Oil Company Backs Off ‘Green’ Push,” “Vogue Cover Draws Criticism,” “Is It Time To Sell That Gold?” “Dozens Killed As Iraq Clashes Widen.” Articles are punctuated by advertisements for spring vacations or improving our credit scores. The sacrosanct and the superfluous share the same page, the terrible and the trite.

Amidst the clamor for attention and concern God’s Word seeks a hearing. We have just come through the most significant event in history - the identity forming, faith validating vengeance of Jesus the Victor. He beat death. It’
s not a sports column, not a fashion statement, not an investment strategy.
It is a faith confession.

Faith confessions bear significant prowess in our lives. It’s more than a belief – it is a life-story. Someone could ask us, “Do you believe Stephen Curry is the major force behind Davidson College’s success in the NCAA Tournament?” We could resoundingly say, “Yes, I do!” But we wouldn’t order our lives around the event. The Resurrection is no Cinderella story. It is an existential reality.

Consider the ramifications in us of Christ’s achievement. During Lent we journeyed toward the cross. Thank God, it’s Easter.
Are you like me? It’s easy to allow the story to fade with yesterday’s news – to drop it in the recycle box with last evening’s paper. (Not that it will go away, mind
you.) This is a story that continues to shape whether I let it shape me or not. This is an event of consequence. There is more of the same to come – and Jesus says the more-to-come I will experience on a personal level.

It’s a season for pondering The Victory. Here are some voices that resonate through the ages on the Subject:

“In Christ’s death, death died. Life dead slew death; the fullness of life swallowed up death; death was absorbed in the body of Christ” ~ St.
Augustine**

“For by it [resurrection] righteousness is obtained for us (Rom. 4:24); it is a sure pledge of our future immortality (1Cor. 15); and even now by its virtue we are raised to newness of life, that we may obey God’s will by pure and holy living (Rom. 6:4)” ~ John Calvin**

- Tob Adams