The Resurrection changes everything
By Tracy Thomas
Lincoln Christian University

[April 13, 2022]   Andy Stanley said, “If a guy predicts his death AND his resurrection AND pulls it off, then I would go with anything he says.”

Makes sense to me. The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything.

Then he appeared to James (I Corinthians 15:7). It changed a half-brother of Jesus from a doubter to a believer. From one of His most vocal critics to one of His most influential leaders in the early church.

The resurrection is real. There were witnesses, hundreds of them. The resurrection of Jesus changed a group of women who went to the tomb early that Sunday morning. There was plenty of opportunity for those who did not believe to discredit it, but they could not. The disciples of Jesus carried this truth to an often violent end, and whose sacrifice paved the way for this movement to embrace 2 billion followers today.

The resurrection changed our world. The greatest scientists in history sought to know more about the Creator of the universe. Churches began schools and hospitals to teach and to heal in Jesus’ name. Artists put notes on a page or images on a canvas to glorify the God of the Scriptures. Because of the resurrection, we have a different view of right and wrong, of men and women, of life and death.

The resurrection changed me. It changed how I influence the lives of others. It changed the words I say and the attitude with which I say them. It changed how I live, how I make my decisions. The resurrection changed what I want. My goal becomes not to get my way, but to get His way. I am content with only God’s blessing, even if I receive nothing else, because I have seen how powerful and complete God’s blessings are. The resurrection changed how I see the gifts of God, and I will no longer turn the gifts that God has given to me into golden calves that I worship. The resurrection reminds me of the cost of grace and the hard work of forgiveness – what Jesus did for me, I can do for others.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. There is only one question left to ask: Has it changed YOU?

God crashes our world, and our expectation of what that world is going to be like, and says 'I'm here. I've always been here.' There is no firmer expectation than death. Dead people are supposed to stay dead. But on the third day, expectations were shattered. The greatest of miracles was achieved.

The resurrection is not just some event in history. It is the moment that took all of history, lumped it all together, and said ‘NOW it all makes sense!’ The resurrection is not a waste of time – Bob Goff said that the only people who wasted their time at the Resurrection were the soldiers who were guarding Jesus.

This Easter season, God is not finished raising up people.

The resurrection changes everything. Imagine what will happen when it changes you.

Tracy Thomas
Lincoln Christian University