The Resurrection: A Living Hope for Now and Forever

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:17, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." Without the resurrection, there is no gospel, no salvation, and no hope. But Christ has been raised, and that changes everything—not only for eternity, but for today.

Resurrection Power in the Present

The resurrection isn't just an event we look back on—it is a present reality that reshapes how we live. When Jesus rose from the dead, He inaugurated a new creation. Paul writes in Romans 6:4, "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead... we too might walk in newness of life."

This "newness of life" means that believers are not just forgiven; they are transformed. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us (Ephesians 1:19-20). It means addiction doesn't have the final word. Fear doesn't have the final word. Shame and guilt don’t have the final word. We live now in resurrection light—empowered to love, to serve, to forgive, to hope.

A Living Hope for the Future

Peter describes the resurrection as giving us "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading" (1 Peter 1:3–4). The resurrection is God's guarantee that death is not the end, and that suffering will not last forever.

Because Jesus rose, we too shall rise. His empty tomb is the promise of our own. This future hope strengthens us in trials. It keeps us from despair. It reminds us that justice will come, that broken things will be made whole, and that every tear will be wiped away.

Living Between Resurrection and Return

We live in the space between resurrection and return. Christ is risen, but He will come again. And in the meantime, we are called to be resurrection people—living as signs of the new creation in a still-broken world. Every act of kindness, every stand for truth, every moment of sacrificial love is a glimpse of the kingdom that is coming and already here.

So this Easter—and every day after—remember: the resurrection is not just a historical claim; it is a personal invitation. It’s God’s declaration that life wins, that love wins, that He wins.

And because He lives, so do we.