But now in a single victorious stroke of life all three -sin, guilt, death- are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! 1 Corinthians 15:57
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37
The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52
The word victory is defined as the act of defeating an enemy or opponent. This past Sunday, Christians around the world celebrated the awesome reality of Jesus’ victory over death. Carolyn Amends says that Easter Sunday is the Christian faith’s gold medal victory lap!
During this past week, we have gone from jubilation on Palm Sunday to the sadness of the Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, the pain of the crucifixion, death, and now we can finally celebrate the new beginning that has come from the terrible ending on the cross on Good Friday.
Growing up in the 1960’s everyone who had any interest at all in sports had heard the saying made popular by Jim McKay on ABC”s Wide World of Sports – The Thrill of Victory…the Agony of Defeat. Christians right now are experiencing the thrill of the victory of Christ over the grave.
We have all experienced so many victories in our personal lives, careers, and even in our local and favorite sports teams since our last Easter celebration. We have celebrated weddings, engagements, new babies, good health reports, and graduations. We all love the victories and celebrations of life just as we love the victory of Easter, but what would Easter be without Good Friday?
If we aren’t careful, we can begin to forget that the resurrection would be meaningless without the pain and sacrifice of Good Friday. There is no victory without sacrifice, and no decision to follow Christ is without trouble, sacrifice, or pain. Sometimes, especially during times of sickness, loss, or betrayal by others, we can be tempted to feel that Jesus has let us down, but He never promised that life with Him would be care free. Every pain is an opportunity to consider it all joy, and grow into the person God meant us to be.
This year has also brought its share of challenges. We’ve seen friends lose spouses in well fought battles – some long lived and some quickly. We’ve seen people suffer with the pain of betrayal, sickness, heartache, and loss. Grief will break all the rules of seeking victory. Paul tells us that when we run into these challenges in life, they help us build endurance, endurance develops character, and character strengthens our hope. This hope will not disappoint. Romans 5:3-5
God provides us an amazing set of benefits when we face problems. First, He helps us develop endurance which gives us the strength to draw on His grace and keep moving forward regardless of our circumstances.
Next, God helps us to draw on our inner strength of character which is developed by a closer walk with Him. Our personal integrity is developed and leads to the strength to handle those Good Friday days.
Finally, we gain confident hope, a deep conviction that whatever it takes to be Easter people, we will ultimately make it. We also know that we are guaranteed success in our mission because this hope will not lead to disappointment.
It’s human nature to let the joy of Easter fade away as we deal with our day to day lives, but Corrie Ten Boom reminds us that faith shows God’s love and Jesus’ victory even through the chaos of life. It’s up to remind ourselves that because He lives, we will live also. John 14:19
The victory lies not with us, but with Christ, who has taken it on himself to conquer for us and to conquer in us. Richard Sibbes
Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes; He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He Arose, He Arose, Hallelujah, Christ Arose. Robert Lowry