This month we are approaching Easter Sunday which we often call Resurrection Sunday, for it is a remembrance of that first Easter Sunday on which Jesus Christ our Lord rose from the grave. While it is good and right for us to celebrate Easter each year, perhaps we also need reminding that every Sunday is a resurrection Sunday. Indeed, each Sunday that we gather is a continued celebration of the Risen King and of our expectation of His return to rule and to reign forevermore.
Since the fall of man, humanity has continually tried to climb the “spiritual mountain.” We all know this instinct. It is the idea that man can somehow work his way back up to God’s holy standard. We think that if we just do the right things, and enough of the right things, then God will regard us as good, worthy, and deserving of blessing, heaven, eternal life, or whatever else we hope to receive from Him.
Now we turn to the truth that stands at the very center of human history: Jesus died for you—and if you know Him, God has promised to do good to and for you (Rom. 5:6–11; 1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 8:28–39). This truth draws our attention to the cross and helps us understand what Christ has accomplished for us.
When we talk about God’s love, we often think about it primarily in terms of its impact on how we feel. Thinking about God’s love often brings comfort and hope. These are good responses, but they become dangerous if we begin to think that God loves us because we are lovable. In reality, God loves us not because we deserve love, but because God is love (1 John 4:8).
Two simple words, yet nothing is more fundamental. God is real. He is not imaginary or symbolic. He is not the creation of culture or of the minds of men. He actually IS! While Scripture never states this exact sentence, the reality of God’s existence is assumed and proclaimed everywhere. The Bible opens not by arguing for God’s existence but by declaring it: “In the beginning, God created…” (Gen. 1:1). God is simply there—eternal, self-existent, and unquestioned.
