Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; (John 11:25)
There’s a great fascination among some with stories
involving characters who for one reason or another, cannot die. Vampires are a
classic example. It’s especially true (I think) among young adult women, who
long to be considered desirable enough that someone who has lived for hundreds
of years would want her. I’m a little under 60, and I can’t imagine having the
patience to put up with a teenager as a lover. Can you imagine someone who has five
lifetimes of experience with life wanting anything to do with someone who has
barely begun to have experience with one? But I suppose the whole point is that
the teens involved want to think that they’re somehow special.
At the same time, I can understand the allure of a character who doesn’t
have to worry – at least much – about dying. Way back in the 80s my favorite
superhero was Wolverine. Can you imagine how freeing it would be to be able to live
without fear of dying? That’s supposed to be what it’s like for a Christian, who
– supposedly – believes that even if she dies, she will be resurrected to never
die again.
I’m not talking about doing something dangerous like dashing
onto a busy highway in front of four semis. Would it change my thinking,
however, about standing up for something I believe in? It might. Would it
change my thinking if someone pulled a gun on me? It would. Or if someone living
next door came down with COVID-19 or Ebola? If I really believed, it should.
Would it influence how I went about looking for a job? I’m not sure. It seems
to me as if I think looking for a job will be the death of me, so it might.
What if… what if we lived as if we actually believed that
the “God’s honest truth” is that dying means resurrection? What would it change
for you? What would it change for me? I don’t think I’d want to start acting
like Wolverine, but I might begin to act a little more like Christ.
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