Hope Beyond the Grave Easter April 8, '07 morgan young
About 10 years ago, there were random black marks being painted on the canvas of my life.
As many of you know, they were the marks of finding out that my dad wasn't my biological father.
That even though I was the middle of five children and our parents had always been together, I am biologically the son of another man.
For weeks and months after I heard that news, I was on a rough road--emotionally numb. I wasn't feeling hope, I was barely feeling anything. And before I could make sense of everything my father passed away...
In the kind of irony that only God can orchestrate, I ended up being the main speaker at his funeral. And in that process of preparing for that funeral, God took the canvas full of random black marks---and brought things into focus for me.
God helped me remember a time when I was 4.
I was upstairs in our bedroom on the top bunk bed and due to some horsing around with my older brother, I managed to fall headfirst into a chair next to the bed. I broke my fall with my cheekbone...
Over my own crying, I heard my dad's big heavy shoes shooting up the stairs fast. He swooped me up into his arms as I proceeded to bleed all over the back of his trenchcoat
The next thing I knew I was lying on my back with an intense white light about foot away from my face. All I could see was the light, but I heard my dad's voice. The quiet calming voice that always made us relax.
In the blinding light, gloved hands worked just below my right eye---and my left hand...my left hand was killing me!
My dad was squeezing it. It was his patented technique for diverting my attention away from the pain and fear of the doctor who was sewing my cheek back together. It worked.
And today--- I do not remember the pain and fear of that situation. I remember that my dad saved the day. He pulled me out of a bad situation and took me to a healing place.
As I prepared for the funeral, God brought images like that to my mind. And in reliving those images, God brought healing to my soul
I began to feel again...I began to thaw out (emotionally)...
I realized that my dad was my dad because of who he was to me & the experiences we shared--- it didn't have anything to do with blood types.
But ironically, as my emotionally numb feelings wore off, that meant that I could then feel the pain that I was indeed at my father's funeral.
Nearly all of us in this room know the pain and emotion of being at the funeral of someone we love. We've been in that room with the "big box" with the flowers on it.
And let's just be honest, it's not a fun time.
Being at a loved one's funeral means no more talks. No more hugs. No more chances to say, "Thanks" or "I'm sorry" or "I love you."
Death is a tough time...it's a hard time...saying goodbye isn't easy.
And so sometimes, to try to cope, to try and ease the pain--- we make light of it.
For example Garrison Keillor said,
"They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by a few days."
There's always a little truth in comedy. And the truth is everyone of us is going to miss our funeral by a few days---there will come a day for all of us when the meter will say "time expired."
But God gave us something more than humor to help us cope with death.
He gave us His Son. And when He gave us Jesus, He gave us undeniable HOPE that goes beyond the grave.
Look at 1 Peter 1:3-4 (cev)
"Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, He has given us new life and a HOPE that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear."
The hope and the truth of Easter is at that point in history---Jesus Christ redefined death: it used to be the end, that was it, that's all
But on Easter 2 millennia ago Jesus Christ kicked the end out of that tomb and made it into a tunnel---a tunnel that connects mortal life to eternal life.
When I tell people that my dad passed away they often politely say, "I'm sorry."
I am not sorry. Because when he passed away, he left without taking his frail body, crushed spirits and his failed lungs.
He went to receive an inheritance that will never decay---never disappear.
He went on to a place of perfect healing and wholeness.
I love how the Roman philosopher, Senaca, captured the essence of John 3:16--the essence of hope beyond the grave:
(note: it's believed the Paul helped Senaca convert to Christianity)
"The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity."
On Earth my dad saw disease that slowly took his life and tough times that crushed his spirit.
On Earth Jesus saw betrayal, ridicule, abuse, torture, and a brutal cross.
On Earth we've all wiped tears as the "shells" of loved ones have been lowered into the ground.
But Hope beyond the grave is FOREVER. And it's a FOREVER that's so very different from this life on Earth
The Bible says:
We will be like the angels (Matt 22:30)
No sorrow, crying or grief (Rev 7:17, 21:4)
No violence or wars,--only peace. (Job 3:17, 2 Thes 1:7)
No death (Luke 20:36, Rev 21:4)
No hunger or thirst (Rev 7:16-17)
When Jesus rose from the grave on Easter, He went ahead of us and prepared a place where there's no such thing as:
Car bombings
Terrorism
School shootings
Racism
Cancer
Loss of loved ones
Poverty
Divorceno rocky marriages
Homelessness
Birth defects
Relational scars
Bondage---no addiction,
other than being addicted to the love of a King who we can finally see!
Can you imagine an eternity where self-doubt and low self-esteem don't exist?
Can you imagine an eternity where your deepest hurts, your biggest defeats, and your most embarrassing sin never comes to mind?
Can you imagine an eternity where we are not consumed with challenges and struggles---but instead we're consumed with being in the presence of our Glorious King?
"Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" John 11:25-26 niv
I ask you the same question Jesus asked Martha: Do you believe this?
Do you believe that on Easter, Jesus knocked the end out of the tomb and now the day we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity?
I do
I believe that when I was four and my dad flew up the stairs, swooped me up in his arms and saved the day---
I believe that was foreshadowing...
Because there will come a day when I won't fall off a bunk bed...but I will fail to breathe...
And on that day, my Holy Father will fly to wherever I am
swoop me up in His arms and save the day
the day that will be but the birthday of my eternity.
What a day that will be!
