In the midst of Job’s sufferings, he made a profound statement of faith:
“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Job 19:23-27 NKJV
In this text we see that even in the most ancient times, the saints of old looked in faith to a bodily resurrection, which would be brought about by the Redeemer of mankind. What the saints longed for, and trusted God to bring about in due time, we now receive in full clarity.
Jesus insisted that because of the Father’s love for Him, he would, of His own accord, not only lay down His life, but raise it up again: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father (Jhn 10:17-18).”
After Christ’s resurrection, as the Apostles spread the Gospel through all the world, they echoed the words of Paul when he declared that the controversial message of the church was the resurrection of the dead: “Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day (Act 24:21).”
The central message of the Bible is this unimaginable glory of the Resurrection. You do not live in a world of cold, unfeeling molecules. You are not a character in an AI generated story. Rather, you live in a world where the Son of God died and rose again. It is the understatement of all understatements to say that this changed absolutely everything.
Because Christ rose from the grave, your story need not be a story of eternal death. Even though that is, of course, what our sin against God deserves. Instead, by faith in Christ, His story becomes our story. He has begun a work where all things are being made new. He has inaugurated a kingdom where death itself will soon be sent into everlasting exile. He has established a certain future where sorrow and sighing will all flee away.
As we bring our lives and history to God, we should do so with a firm faith in this central reality of all human history: Christ is risen from the dead. In effect, we should say, “Here Lord, here is my mess, here is my sin, here are my sorrows, here is all my shame.” To which He responds with a kind and entirely undeserved promise that all our sin is forgiven, all our sorrows will be salved, all our shame will be replaced with His endless delight in us.
Scott and Melissa, your marriage is to be unto you a kind proof of God’s unswerving covenant to permeate the whole world with the new creation which Christ’s resurrection began. But this will only be the case if you start with Christ’s resurrection and move outward. The Resurrection will not be a mere add-on, or a nice bouquet off to the side, or a nifty but optional feature. Rather the bodily resurrection of Christ must be your hope both in this world and the world to come. And if this is the case for each of you personally, your marriage too will enjoy the blessing of Christ’s new creation work.
Scott, to you the charge is this. God has taken your wandering path and led you back to the firm ground of Christ and Him crucified. You must lead your bride from that firm and immovable ground. You cannot lead from the swamplands of apathy, the quicksand of unbelief, or the trackless desert of selfishness. You are commanded to be Christ-like unto your wife, which means, among other things, that you must submit yourself to the perfect will of the Father. To do this, you will need at least three things. First, a resolve to glorify God at every turn. Second, a commitment that the wisdom found in Scripture, not your own wisdom, be the standard for how to glorify God. And third, a selfless and humble love. You are to imitate the dying and rising of Christ to your wife each day of your earthly sojourn.
Melissa, to you the exhortation is this. God has shown Himself to you to be indeed a defender of widows. Your sorrow over your first husband’s death is certainly a deep ache. But God has not forgotten you, He has not cast you off. He has remembered you. And so, imitate God your Father in how you submit to and follow and love your new husband. Remember Scott. Be mindful of him. For, you are no longer an island, you are joined by these vows to this man. Rejoice in that gift, and treasure it. Treasure this gift in each kiss, in each embrace, in each meal you prepare, in each honey-do list you compose, in each love note you leave in his coat pocket. Remember him, for from this day forward he is your husband. In this you, too, echo the glory of the Resurrection of Christ; for the Resurrection is the climax of God’s remembrance of His oath to redeem mankind from the tragedy of Eden, and give to us citizenship in Heavenly Jerusalem.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.
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