Hope in the 21st Century

The news is full of bleak stories, the credit crunch and the earthquake in Italy to name a couple. Innocent lives are being taken in unjust wars, jobs are being lost in the recession, families being torn apart with the stress of it all. How can the death of a 1st century Jew provide any hope for us in the 21st century?

The unbelievable happened.

This first century Jew rose from the dead and defeated death. Wow, people don't rise from the dead, but when they are the son of God they do.

Empty tomb.

There was no objection to the empty tomb, just excuses made why the body wasn't there. It's so hard to believe at times and I can be full of doubt at times but it all makes sense in the end. The hope of Jesus is that we will have life after death but also that we have life before death. I'm not saying your worries will disappear just that a different worldview will become possible, a world view where the rich and powerful, the unjust rulers and the evil in the world do not have the last laugh.

Hope.

I will finish with the words of Tom Wright in his book 'Surprised by Hope'.
"And this is the point where believing in the resurrection of Jesus suddenly ceases to be a matter of enquiring about an odd event in the first century and becomes a matter of rediscovering hope in the twenty-first century."

Happy Easter all!