Resurrection Day

So I decided to start a blog. Other people keep prayer journals or notebooks, and I lose everything I write down on paper, so I figure I'm less likely to lose my laptop. This blog will contain my thoughts about spiritual things and my journey to seek Jesus Christ. I will not always be right, but I will always be honest.

It's Easter today, and I went to Grace Bible Church with Pat for the first time. We read through Mark 16:1-8, and I had the following thoughts (some inspired by the sermon):

- The women went out to go anoint the body of Jesus with spices, and when they came to the tomb, they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" Seems like poor planning to me. What were they planning to do, wait for some passerby?

- When the Angel gave them the news of the Resurrection of Jesus, their reaction was fear, awe, trembling, and bewilderment. What is our modern reaction to Easter? A lot of times, it seems like we are bored with the Christian faith. Been there, done that. Why are we more bored than terrified or awed? Why does the Bible have so many encouragements of "be strong, do not be afraid"? Because people used to be afraid of the crazy things that they'd run into in pursuit of God. I don't think I'm taking enough risks in pursuit of the gospel if I'm bored rather than trembling in my faith.

- I never grew up with Easter, and I always viewed it (and Christmas) as pretty nice days when the Church elected to celebrate some of the major things about Jesus's life. And yes, they were founded on pagan origins and mixed with pagan traditions, but God's grace has, in some big ways, turned it around so that Christmas and Easter are very valuable spiritual experiences for a lot of believers these days. More power to them.
But I never really knew how to treat the Resurrection. Christ's death took away our sins, Christ's sacrifice paid the punishment for our fallen nature, Christ's suffering and crucifixion were the ultimate act of love that allowed us to reconcile with God. What am I to make of His Resurrection? And I've always tried to rationalize it. I understand why Christ came and died, but what was the logical need for the Resurrection? Well, if Christ had only died and not resurrected, then here are the such and such implications...so clearly it makes sense that He resurrected. Nothing really made sense to me when I tried to figure out all the why's behind it.
Babe Ruth once had a legendary moment where he stood at home plate, pointed his finger at the crowd in the stands behind center field, then took the pitch and bashed a home run right where he predicted. Every sports fan remember that story and thinks, "That's awesome!" The Bible predicts in Isaiah 53:10 about Jesus's restoration to life and glory, and Jesus himself even calls it in Mark 8 and 10. And then, boom, three days later, He is risen. That's awesome! And I really want to live in that "That's awesome!" reaction to an amazing feat, rather than that need-to-understand-why approach that I've always had about the Resurrection.
Romans 6:3-4 gives some insight into the why. Actually, Paul talks a good deal about the centrality of Christ's Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:14, and I've always walked away with the understanding that the Resurrection is somehow important, but okay, He's alive again, what's the big spiritual significance? I had the thought that it's like in basketball, if you make a spectacular dunk for two points, then get the foul call, everyone will shout "and one!" for the bonus free throw you're about to receive. It's like, boom, dunk in your face, sin and Satan and evil, and then, and one!, Resurrection. Maybe it's something like that. But Romans 6:3-4 is a little more biblical, and it basically makes the case that if we can share in Christ's death for payment for our sins and recoupment of our punishment, then in the same way, we share in His Resurrection for our renewed and transformed and revitalized lives. The whole "new creation in Christ" thing corresponds to our sharing in Christ's Resurrection in the same way that the whole forgiveness thing corresponds to His crucifixion and death. It's a good thought, and while not a complete and comprehensive answer to all my questions, it feels like truth.
I used to question Romans 10:9 a lot. "Believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved." Why is it important that I believe the latter statement? I think I found some answers today.
And I really want to keep the "That's awesome!"