Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/75

Contributor - Rev. John Moerman

Title - Jesus Christ: Our Resurrection and Life

Topic - Meditation

"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11 : 25-26.

Jesus was speaking here of spiritual life, eternal life and heavenly life, in one word, everlasting life. Jesus was looking across the sickbed and the death-bed, even beyond the grave itself, unto that life everlasting with God in glory above. Unending life is Life Everlasting. Death, absolute as it is, terrible as it is, sorrowful as it is, cannot end everlasting life. Death can break off everything except the unending life with God. This life is outside the bonds of death, the realm of death, and the power of death.

All this the Lord Jesus was speaking to Mary and Martha, and now also to you and me. About whom? About every departed soul, whether that life was broken off and ended here on account of illness, old age, violence, accident, or suicide. In fact, this word Jesus also speaks about all the living. For you and I, and all people everywhere, will some day go "the way of all flesh". In other words, the moment of decisiveness is now, while we are still here on this earth. Our unending life is being decided upon while we are still here in this land of the living.

Millions and millions of people are overlooking this, ignoring this, postponing this, many are laughing off this truth. Of course, this has nothing to do with the truth and fearful reality of it. It still stands that when death comes, God has to be faced; no matter whether the person has never done so before; no matter whether the person had written God off long ago. No one can write God off! No one can write off himself either, whether by the natural process of death or otherwise. Nor can a minister do anything about it at the funeral, not even if he could borrow a sermon of an archangel. Nor will the prayers of past and present saints alter the situation one iota.

This is why Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die. Do you believe this?" Let our answer be like Martha's, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

For you see, everyone who passes away from this earth as an unbeliever, a Godless one, an unholy one, an indifferent one, will face an altogether different future: the most terrible thinkable. Thus, an added reason why we should place the call of unconditional surrender before people now. This is why we should invite and urge all people now to keep the Sunday and worship Him together with all Christians everywhere, during the summer and the winter, the spring time and the autumn.

Many people say or think, "to be a Christian worshipper, what kind of a life is that? It has to be dry, stuffy, and boring". Not so, friends. To be a worshipper of the risen Christ is to possess a kind of life no one else possesses. Yes, that is the claim.

Talking about banking your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all He did, and said, and stood for! This is faith. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebr. I 1 : 1). -So I believe it; I accept it; I embrace it; I live it; I just take God at His Word. For He never lies. He never breaks a promise. And the only way to be "Happy in Jesus" is to "trust and obey". I believe that with God word and deed are one and the same. Other people may find it strange that I bank my life on Him, while no one from the dead has come back to tell me about the truth of the word and the reality of the claim to this glorious everlasting life, but that is alright. This does not bother me. For some day, this faith is going to be changed into sight. "Lazarus, come out!" will reach some day into the Great Day of Resurrection. Than there will be no more dying, only living, living eternally with God. Or as in the case of the unbeliever, the Godless one, the unholy one, the indifferent one, living eternally separated from God's love and grace, being in the place of the devil and his cohorts.

Spiritually speaking, everlasting life and resurrection life already begin here. Believers are people who take God at His Word. Believers are people who love God, with heart and soul and mind and strength; they also seek the same overall good for those whom God places upon their path of life. To such people God says also today, "I help you, I protect you, I defend you, I walk with you, all the way". 'This is the Easter message of love and faith hope and power, which God wants you and me to accept and live, and thereby pass on to others. There is no question about it, Jesus Christ is our resurrection and life!

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