Risen Indeed

A seed that stays a seed remains a seed alone but if it falls to the ground and dies it gives a harvest disproportionate to its size. I guess one of the things I am realising this Easter is that we are part of a resurrection faith. That death and resurrection is the seed of our faith and as we grow and produce in turn our own fruit, it too must "fall to the ground and die" in order for its own potential to be unleashed. This is as it ever was. Our own faith was enabled by Jesus death and resurrection. And our ability to proceed in this life with him is pretty dependent on our ability to lay down our lives of our own free will. This is an interesting aspect of our faith...that we are to recreate patterns in our lives, patterns that reflect kingdom principles.

Paul says that "If Christ is not raised then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith." Resurrection then is utterly vital to our faith and if the resurrection power is to play a part in our journey then there must be a dying first....we cannot be resurrected if we are not first dead. Jesus said If any of us would follow him we must deny our selves and take up our cross daily. In other words a daily dying...cos carrying the cross is a death sentence on your sinful self. As Paul says "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6:14).

Its a death sentence on our own way too....for us all to die we must all also have our Gethsemane, where we first say not my will but yours be done. And like John the baptist we must also say, "I must decrease and he must increase". When we've wrestled with our selves and God, and given him our dreams and hopes and aspirations (so they are as dead to us), like Issac laid on the alter, then we can expect resurrection life.

I was honored to be able to witness the baptisms of three young people in a neighboring church today (On Easter Sunday, shortly after I began this blog) and the power of the Easter message was so amazingly illustrated in this very visual act of initiation. Each young person was asked to renounce sin and express faith in Christ. and then were buried in the waters of baptism and raised to new life. scripture encourages us to " Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus." And it is striking me now that these patterns we are to hold on to are spiritual laws (like sowing and reaping) and when the New Testament speaks about not laying again the foundations of repentance from acts that lead to death (etc)....it is speaking about the VERY FIRST lesson you learned as an infant in Christ. Repent and Believe. Die and be raised. This is the first brick in our spiritual building. Why would we think we were going to build with other things. This is the pattern that we must hold to unswervingly. There is NO other foundation. This is what Christ himself went through and we are to be mini Christs. There is no getting round the cross. If you want the power of the resurrection you must face the cross.

I am utterly convicted by my own musings here but I believe this is something that personally I have missed. I'd like to make it my aim to die daily and be raised daily too. There is no crown without the cross. How are you shouldering yours?? Splinters digging in a bit? want to change shoulders yet to make it a bit more comfortable? Bear with it dear friends its only Friday but Sunday is coming....