Death seems final. When someone is near death and brought back to life, it is big news. This is for good reason because it is not normal. Normally death is “final,” and we don’t see it reversed. As you know, there have been a few times death was reversed, and once, death was defeated. In this victory, we have hope! It’s more than a good story; it changes our lives now.
It is worth our time to dwell on the resurrected Jesus. Remember Saul on the road to Damascus? His encounter with this Jesus changed his life forever. Do you remember the two questions Saul had? Let’s use these two questions to focus on the resurrected Christ.
Who are you, Lord?
In Acts 22 Paul is telling a crowd of Jews what he experienced. After he saw the bright light and fell to the ground, his first question was, “Who are you, Lord?” Think about that. This being speaking to him didn’t fit the God he thought he knew. He was convinced he was serving God by persecuting the “followers of the Way.” Yet the God he was bowing before asked him, “Why do you persecute me?” Paul needed to know who this was. The answer to his question verified that it was indeed “Jesus of Nazareth.” Imagine the reversal in Paul’s mind. “I can’t keep fighting against this mighty presence. I must have been wrong.” Have you ever asked, “Who are you, Lord?” Are there areas where your wrong understanding of God is having a negative impact? Actually, if our view is wrong, the negative impact is guaranteed. To correct this problem, we need a clear picture of the resurrected Jesus. How do we see Him? Two ways we can see Him are through His Word and through others who have seen Him.
What shall I do, Lord?
Seeing Jesus as He is, is the basis for the second question. “What shall I do, Lord?” In that moment, the rest of Paul’s life was insignificant. He wasn’t thinking about his house, job, or bank account. All that mattered was doing the will of Jesus of Nazareth, no matter what! Are you there? How can we live there? How can we keep everything else small and live on our faces before Him? The answer is in the rest of the story, look at the life of Paul. Clearly this moment changed Paul’s life forever.
Two questions, “Who are you, Lord?” and “What shall I do, Lord?” brought on by an encounter with the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. May your life be touched in a similar way as you meet the living Savior this Easter season.
-Arlin Horst