You Gotta Believe!
Dan Kunz
“Everybody’s got to believe something, and I believe I’ll have another beer!” W.C. Fields wasn’t exactly the world’s most notable philosopher, but he’s at least partially correct. Everybody really does feel the need to believe something. In his book, The Way I Heard It, Mike Rowe, of TV fame, claims that his grandfather’s favorite idiom, was “It’s all about the what, not the how.” In this case, what you believe is all-important.
What you believe is all important in the areas of religion, politics, education, and dozens of others. If you believe that a democratic republic is the best type of government, you will probably do and support all of the basic tenets of such a government. You will vote. You will voice your opinion. You will either run for political office or support those that do. The same is true of Christianity. If you believe that Jesus Christ was the true Son of God, as well as being fully human, you will act and speak accordingly. If you believe that Jesus lived a perfect life for us, because we cannot, you will be duly thankful and appreciative. If you believe that Christ died on a cross and bore the full punishment for our sins in our place, you can only live a life of obedience and love as a means of saying “thank you”.
All those beliefs are central to Christianity. Just a couple weeks ago, though, we celebrated the most important belief of all – the Resurrection! Because Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning, our future is sure. We, too, will rise from the dead to spend eternity with our Lord, and Savior. Jesus’ resurrection is the declaration of “game over” for Satan, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Think about it this way. Jesus’ perfect life is virtually impossible for us to comprehend. His teaching and preaching is inspiring. His humble submission to Roman and Jewish authorities is amazing. The torture and painful death which he endured on our behalf is beyond our understanding. The abandonment of Jesus by his heavenly Father is horrifying. None of those aspects of his life, however, signify completion of his “mission” without his resurrection.
The Apostle Paul said it perfectly, I Corinthians 15:19 “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiable of all people.” If Jesus did not rise from the dead, all we have is a dead Savior. If our Savior is dead, then we are dead. If that’s the case, we are to be pitied above all. We put our trust in someone and something that did us virtually no good. Praise be to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the whole plan, not just part of it. Jesus rose. We will rise. Believe it! It’s a matter of life and death.