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Death and Our Hope in Christ

Coronavirus Response

September 17, 2020 • Don Willeman

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to the Kingdom Perspective.

Death and disease are unavoidable in this fallen world. And whether we like it or not, they are a stark reminder of both our frailty and the frivolity of our way of life.

The world is not the way it’s supposed to be! We see the futility of life all around us, and this difficult reality can drive us to anxiety—for our health, our well-being, our loved ones, our way of life…the list goes on.

My friends, this is precisely where the hope of the gospel shines. Our whole gospel banks its hope not on a better, more comfortable, or freer life in the here-and-now. Rather, it banks its hope on the promise of a new life beyond the grave. It looks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the sure hope of eternal life in him. And far from making us ineffective in the midst of crisis, this hope anchors us in the storm—“a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul”, as the writer of Hebrews puts it.

That’s why the Apostle Peter speaks of us being “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Indeed, we have an “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, reserved in heaven for us”—protected by the power of God—even in the midst of these very real, earthly trials.

Thus, the turmoil and tragedy of our lives becomes an opportunity for this hope to shine through us.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ…”

~ 1 Peter 1:3-7 (NASB)