He is Risen, Indeed!

“He is Risen Indeed” is our response Easter morning to the proclamation “He is Risen!”  I’ve often wondered why we have a response on Easter versus Christmas when we just say “Merry Christmas”.  I’m not sure of the exact reason, but for me it prompts deeper thought.  It helps me internalize the significance of the statement.  Because Jesus rose from death to life, we too can live. He did what no one else could do: redeem us.  R=Redeemed.

For the last seven weeks, we’ve looked at being His follower.  We discussed how being His follower takes faith.  We should obey, love, listen, look for opportunities, be in His Word and encourage others.  But none of these are as important as this last element. In ancient Israel, a redeemer is typically a family member who bought someone’s way to freedom.  Jesus, our brother, did this for all of us.  He completed what we could not.  He fully redeemed us to live freely forever with God.

Everything pales in comparison to the eternal truth of Jesus’ sacrifice.  God loved us so much He not only created us but saved us from ourselves by sending His Son.  Because of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, we can eternally commune with God.  He fought the fight, ran the race and won the ultimate battle over death.  While all the previous elements of being His follower are significant, none of them matter as much as being forever Redeemed.

I sin, we all sin and try as I might, I will still sin.  But the beauty of redemption means that those sins are forever washed away.  They no longer control me or my eternal destiny.  That fight has been fought and won by Jesus.

Believing and professing this, I strive to live my life for Him.  As His follower, I put my faith in Him alone.  I attempt to obey, love, listen and look for opportunities to serve.  I follow His Word as my map and try to be an encouraging voice in this world.  But some days I fall short.  Some moments are not very memorable.  But in those moments I again gain understanding and fully appreciate how I am redeemed.

God doesn’t remind me of my faults.  He looks at me and my sin and sees Jesus.  He hears my prayers, directs my path and leads me to my eternal home all because of Jesus. While it’s my job and life goal to be His follower, His was to be my Redeemer.

I don’t have to do any of the other things we’ve just spend the last seven weeks discussing.  While I will continue to attempt all of them to grow closer to Him, I don’t need to.  The only thing I need is to know I’m redeemed.  That’s it.  Believe and trust in what He did.  He redeemed me.  That’s all that matters.

He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. ~Job 19:25 (NLT)

Linking up with Dawn Klinge at #GraceandTruth, Jaime Weibel at #SittingAmongFriends and Crystal Storms at #IntentionalTuesday