Pastor Quinn • March 13, 2022
Crushed: Shortcuts are Crushed by Determination
Last week we talked about temptation. This week we see what is at the center of every temptation: a promise of a shortcut to glory. Even in a world as sharply divided as ours, there is near universal agreement that the preferred path to glory is the shortest and easiest. To walk the path our Savior puts us on, one on which the cross comes before the crown, puts us out of step with the world. Thankfully, the determination required to walk this path starts with our Savior and not with us. Because of his determination, we are offered a glory far superior to anything the world can offer.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, I would have little hope for the future. That’s how the disciples felt after this death. “We hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:19). Their hope for a better life had died along with Jesus. But he lives, and it makes a difference. My hope for the future is restored. I have victory over the feeling of hopelessness, because the one who heals me and gives me a better life is himself alive. He lives to restore my hope.
New Paragraph
He Lives To Take Me From Death To Life Without the resurrection of Jesus, death would appear permanent. No one would have come back from the dead to explain what happens after death. Jesus told his disciples what would happen. But they were slow to believe the Easter truth. God ensured that his people had witnesses to assure that Jesus did not remain dead. He Lives, and it make a difference! I too shall live! Death has become a pathway to paradise. Jesus has already made me spiritually alive by giving me faith in his resurrection. In every possible way, Jesus takes me from death to life.
