The bodily resurrection of Jesus
is both fact and symbol. And, strangely, it is as a symbol that
it is most important for us. Christ freed us from sin. By 'sin'
we don't just mean the personal, sinful acts, whether big or
small, that we all commit. We're talking more of release from
all that imprisons our spirit. Fear, first and foremost. And
then, all that is spawned by fear; the awful chains that enslave
us and hold us captive; the negative states and attitudes that
diminish life and lead to spiritual death.
What are these? Bitterness
and resentment. Guilt, whether real or imaginary. Relentless
anger that festers inside us and destroys our peace. Jealousy
and envy. Ambitions, lusts and desires that run amok and leave
us ever restless and dissatisfied. All of these wreck our quality
of life, so that even when we are free in our outer world, our
inner world has become a prison, our experience of life a condemned
cell in which we waste away and die. Who, what can deliver us?
For the Christian, the answer is simple, "Christ"!
By rising from the dead, Jesus finally and completely vindicated
his entire mission and message. We call him 'Lord' and 'Saviour'.
But these remain mere titles unless in the concrete we take him
at His word. And that means accepting as true all He has to say
about God and about life and how to live it. To ignore or side-step
His wisdom is to refuse the one key that can let us out of our
inner prison to live a life of freedom of spirit. And that is
the only freedom worthy of the name.
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