Spoiler Alert – He Lives!
There are many heroes that have blazed many trails for us – our own family members, our veterans, those who created a life-changing invention that gave us incredible time-saving opportunities. Many of those are still alive and many have passed on. But, after Sunday’s celebration of Christ’s resurrection…..the greatest HERO Who ever lived…didn’t just pass on…..He lives on! Hallelujah!
I have Good News for you today. Many religions are based on the works of a dead hero. Not ours. Our “Good News” message is about a living Hero. In Christianity, it is Jesus Christ’s message of rescue. He rescued us from eternal death when He died on the cross for our sins and mistakes. On that third day – death could no longer hold Him. With His resurrection, the Good News is our eternal life. It is the salvation of the faithful (as elaborated in the Gospels). I love that definition – that means we can wake up each day, and EVERYDAY, with GOOD NEWS!!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him, will have eternal life.” John 3:16
A Spoiler Alert is a warning that an important detail of the plot of a film, book, television show, or movie is about to be revealed. I still have this birthday card that was given to me years ago. It’s a treasure and I’ve shared it before, but just seems we need to see again. The front of the card read: “Spoiler alert — the hero comes back to life”. Hilarious! And that’s the truth. The guy in the bookstore has the Bible in his hands — and the message he’s hearing is the Hero – Jesus, rose from the grave and LIVES!
The inside of the card said, “Happy Birthday and many happy RETURNS! I loved it when I received it, and I still love the message today, these few days after Easter. Spoiler Alert again….there’s even more to this “happy ending”. Those of us who claim Him as our Lord and Savior will really live forever and ever. Now, that’s REALLY GOOD NEWS!
The diabolical plot against our Lord was spoiled by His resurrection and now we can look forward to this Easter joy FOREVER! It is a phenomenon that from 12 ragtag men: fishermen, tax collectors, farmers, and a doctor exponentially multiplied to billions of followers throughout the ages. How incredible it is that Jesus never wrote a book yet there are more books written about Him than any other subject in the world. He never composed a song, but there is more music written about Him than any other subject in history. Jesus never painted a picture or carved a sculpture, but there are more art paintings and sculptures made about Him than any other subject in history. Jesus never traveled more than 100 miles from where He was born, and yet, there are followers of Jesus in every nook and cranny of the planet.
The HERO mentioned on this card, really is about GREAT NEWS. It’s great news because, when it’s understood, we are radically transformed by such indescribable love, peace, joy and so many other benefits that cause us to have a full, vibrant, abundant life on this side of heaven……AND BEYOND!!! Jesus defeated death so we don’t have to fear it. We can be certain of our future in heaven, but the best part is while we are still here, God gives so much purpose to our lives.
I don’t know who your hero is, but mine still lives. In fact, we had a little talk this morning and He assured me…..”everything’s gonna’ be alright”! So why should I worry or fret about anything? And why should you?