We’ve just finished Holy Week, the high point in the church calendar for the year. What a journey from sin and death to resurrection and life!

Now what? We return to our day-to-day lives. As the world remains fallen, broken, and full of evil, how do we reflect the light and goodness that Easter brought?

The more I reflect on the reality of the resurrection, the more clear it becomes that our claim of Christ’s resurrection must be all or nothing in our lives. If he was not God, did not defy death, and the whole thing is a lie, then all of this – Easter, church, belief – is nothing. But if it is true, it is the answer to everything we seek as humans. Everything. It is bigger than any fear of sharing this truth we may have. It is bigger than the skeptics who question the minutiae of theology and bicker over the philosophy of the Gospel. It is all or it is nothing.

And if Christ is all, what does that mean for us? I think of the way the old hymn puts it: “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.” He is the foundation under everything that we experience. That should bring us comfort, security, and freedom at all times, in all circumstances – it is all or it is nothing. Think about the foundation of your house. You can have a water leak or a sewage backup without worrying that your whole house will fall down because you have a secure foundation. You can have dance parties and race cars with your children on the floors because you have a secure foundation. You can even knock down walls and renovate, knowing your house remains standing. That is how free we are because of Christ. Anything life brings our way can be faced in light of his death and resurrection providing us a sure foundation.

Terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka targeting Christians. Christ must be all or he is nothing.
My friend’s daughter who is facing a terminal disease. Christ must be all or he is nothing.
When my reserves are empty, and I feel I have nothing left to give my family. Christ must be all or he is nothing.
When you have every material thing you need and more. Christ must be all or he is nothing.
When you hold that newborn baby and feel a new kind of joy. Christ must be all or he is nothing.
When you have a great time with your closest friends or finish a book that rocked your way of thinking. Christ must be all or he is nothing.

In all these things – the hard, the evil, the happy, the pleasant – Christ is constant. Knowing we can trust him with the smallest to the largest details of our lives means we can face the small and large things with unwavering confidence. With a secure freedom. Think about it. If you truly believe God conquered death, how does it impact your life? The hard days are still hard and the good days are still good, but underneath, in, and around it all is the security that Christ is good and he has secured our future.

Let’s step forward out of Holy Week claiming the power of the resurrection in our lives!

Here are a few verses that may help with that reflection:

Daniel 3:17-18 – “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

1 Corinthians 15:13-15 – “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.”

1 Corinthians 15: 19-22 -- “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”