“Having hope toward God … that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:15).

To a believer in Jesus, the hope of resurrection ought to be a wonderful inspiration in the earthly life. The grave is not the end; we shall come again from it in new beauty, and we shall live on forever. Not only did Christ teach that the dead shall rise again, but He Himself went down into the grave and then came up alive again after three days. Thus He showed the possibility of resurrection. One Man died and rose again – and may not all?

But His Resurrection meant more than that. He was the Head of His people; and as such, His victory was for them. He met and conquered Death for them, and now Death is a vanquished foe. The Apostle Paul puts it very strongly, and says that Christ abolished Death. Jesus Himself put it no less strongly when He declared, “I am the resurrection and the life … whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die!”

There is no break or interruption in a Christian’s life when they experience what we call “dying.” In the next instant after death, their spirit lives more fully and gloriously than it ever lived before. Then the body which goes down into the grave sleeps – yes, that is the Christian word. The believer’s body sleeps in Jesus until the Day of Resurrection, when Jesus will come and raise it up again – not the old earthly, worn-out, sin-corrupted, mortal flesh and blood; but rather, a new, strong, glorious, incorruptible, immortal, spiritual body that live with Him forever!

What a blessed assurance! Praise the Lord today for this wonderful hope that we have as believers in Jesus!

Feel free to leave your reflections and share your thoughts in the Comments below.

God bless you and your family, this day and always.

All for our King’s glory,
Christian

photo by Simon Wilkes  |  Unsplash.com

This post is another installment of Miller’s Monday Musings, a weekly series that is published every Monday on my website. The series features selected writings that have been adapted from the works of James Russell Miller (1840-1912), a much-beloved Christian author and pastor who is well-remembered for his practical thoughts on Christian home and family life. Learn more about this weekly series by clicking here.