Photo by J. Lamb from High Knob’s Fire Tower Lookout
Meditation: The Resurrection
One snowy, December day I hiked to High Knob’s Fire Tower Lookout. The earth was locked in a frozen slumber where you could see miles of valleys and mountains covered by a white blanket of snow. Yet, this snow melted away in a matter of days. Life is also fleeting as we recognize that life is too short. It melts away like the snow mentioned above; if we are fortunate, we will live maybe seventy or eighty years in strength, as Moses states in Psalm 90. This past year, I experienced a lot of loss and death; it has been a humble reminder of how short and precious life truly is, like the beautiful snow that has evaporated above.
Now, Jesus is approached by the Sadducees who did believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees, along with many others, wanted to trap Jesus with his own words. By telling a story about a wife who was married to the eldest brother of six brothers. Then, he died, and she married the next brother as was customary in Jewish Law. She ends up married to all seven brothers before she also dies. Then, the Sadducees ask whose wife will she be in heaven?
Jesus reminds them of God’s power to renew life, and the Scriptures continually declare how God restores life. Jesus points to the Old Testament moment when God called Moses from the burning bush. God says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” (Mark 8:26 NIV). God does not say He “was” the God of Abraham, but “I am the God” of Abraham. The Patriarchs still live through the power of God in His presence. Jesus tells us Abraham is alive with the Lord, even though this Patriarch had been buried nearly two thousand years when Jesus said this to the Sadducees.
Our loved ones who have died are now in the presence of God. We can trust we will see them again. May we choose to give our very best to God as we seek to grow in our faith each day. So, we may live with our Lord forever one day soon.
Let us pray.
God of the Resurrection, you made a covenant with Abraham, and he is now with you. Please help us to faithfully follow you also and choose to follow you more with each day. Thank you for your promise to us to give us new life through the resurrection. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Meditation: The Resurrection
One snowy, December day I hiked to High Knob’s Fire Tower Lookout. The earth was locked in a frozen slumber where you could see miles of valleys and mountains covered by a white blanket of snow. Yet, this snow melted away in a matter of days. Life is also fleeting as we recognize that life is too short. It melts away like the snow mentioned above; if we are fortunate, we will live maybe seventy or eighty years in strength, as Moses states in Psalm 90. This past year, I experienced a lot of loss and death; it has been a humble reminder of how short and precious life truly is, like the beautiful snow that has evaporated above.
Now, Jesus is approached by the Sadducees who did believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees, along with many others, wanted to trap Jesus with his own words. By telling a story about a wife who was married to the eldest brother of six brothers. Then, he died, and she married the next brother as was customary in Jewish Law. She ends up married to all seven brothers before she also dies. Then, the Sadducees ask whose wife will she be in heaven?
Jesus reminds them of God’s power to renew life, and the Scriptures continually declare how God restores life. Jesus points to the Old Testament moment when God called Moses from the burning bush. God says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” (Mark 8:26 NIV). God does not say He “was” the God of Abraham, but “I am the God” of Abraham. The Patriarchs still live through the power of God in His presence. Jesus tells us Abraham is alive with the Lord, even though this Patriarch had been buried nearly two thousand years when Jesus said this to the Sadducees.
Our loved ones who have died are now in the presence of God. We can trust we will see them again. May we choose to give our very best to God as we seek to grow in our faith each day. So, we may live with our Lord forever one day soon.
Let us pray.
God of the Resurrection, you made a covenant with Abraham, and he is now with you. Please help us to faithfully follow you also and choose to follow you more with each day. Thank you for your promise to us to give us new life through the resurrection. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Song of Praise: Resurrecting by Elevation Worship
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf8Zzn4nOzc
Scripture Lesson: Mark 12:18-27
Link: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:18-27&version=NIV