Monday, April 5, 2010
1 Peter 1:3 ... a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
A LIVING HOPE
The day in which we live has been referred to as the post-modern era. Postmodernism says there are no fixed truths -- nothing dependable or trustworthy upon which to build one's life. No wonder the world around us is in despair. If there are no fixed stars to give it lasting hope, what is life but mere existence, brief and meaningless? The culture tries to cover up its inner pain with big bank accounts, wild parties, and an unquenchable mania for fun and games. But it's not fooling anyone. The hollowness of people living for nothing beyond themselves is all too apparent. The horror of people facing their own mortality screams out at us.
Postmodernism and its companion despair are not modern at all. Pilate expressed its basic premise when he asked Jesus: "What is truth?" Paul observed it when he quoted the cynical poet: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
But in that world of 2000 years ago, hope came alive. Christ came alive from the grave, lifting the world out of the shadow of death and despair. Easter is the solid ground for a life of true meaning. It gives us something to live for beyond our own selfish interests. Now we are free to live for the God Who died and rose for us all. Now we have the guaranteed hope of endless life tomorrow, free from all sin and sorrow. How can we be in despair when the power of the grave has been forever vanquished by a living Redeemer?
We are not post moderns with nothing fixed to guide us, with nothing firm to hold us up. We are post Easter disciples with a true and living hope.
"Christ the Lord is ris'n today," Sons of men and angles say,
Raise your joys and triumphs high; Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 193:1)
