He Is Risen

The celebration of Easter lasts one day or maybe two, but the blessings of it last all of our life and also into eternity. Life, life with God now, life with God forever, that is the gift of God proclaimed to us by the empty tomb.

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Through the prophet Isaiah 25:7 God prophesied that blessing: “He will swallow up the covering, the veil that hangs over all people, he will swallow up death forever”.

That veil, that covering is death, the death that comes to all people sooner or later. All people including you and me live on this earth for God’s appointed time, and we die and are buried. But the death that God swallowed up forever is not only the physical death.

It is the eternal separation from God. God threatened their death to Adam and Eve when He told them if you eat of this tree you’re going to die. They ate and they were separated from God and there was absolutely nothing they could do to repair or restore that relationship with God. It would be up to God to restore it.

Through Isaiah God promised that he would do so. He would swallow up and destroy death forever and he would give life to people. He would raise people from their physical death and would give them eternal life for he “will swallow up death forever”.

The resurrection of Jesus proves that. He is the eternal son of God. He died and his body was placed into a tomb. Easter morning he rose from the dead and destroyed the power of death.

Death no longer can hold a person forever. All people will rise again from the dead at the command of God. And all people who believe that Jesus died for them “will not perish but will have everlasting life”. “And god will wipe away tears from all faces”…

This is our God, we have waited for him, let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. Christ has risen, he has risen indeed. Never again will he die and he will give us eternal life with himself in heaven. Let the Easter celebration continue until we celebrate it in heaven.

Elmer Schiefer
Pastor, Family of Christ Lutheran Church
elmer@myglobalemail.com
573-529-0584