“If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.”
— Jaroslav Pelikan
Every area, every detail, every element of life hinges upon the resurrection. If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, then nothing in life matters in light of eternity. If Jesus Christ and the hope of the resurrection is before us, then serious matters of life really aren’t that serious. Allow me to explain: the worries of life, the things that weigh us down day after day, you know what they are. The struggle with money, the fear of failure, and the reality of death ultimately lose their power in light of resurrection. If Christ makes all things new in the end, then the believer will overcome the struggles of this world.
But what if Christ is not risen? Well, then nothing else matters. For if Christ is not risen, then there can be no ultimate meaning or purpose to life. Everything is random and chaotic. It matters very little whether we are rich or poor, sick or healthy, because in the end everyone ends up the same way. Rich people may be ahead at this moment, but they receive the same fate. Healthy people are preferred to sick people but they both end in the same place and predicament.
All of life and eternity rests on the resurrection. This Easter we celebrate that Christ is risen and, because Christ is risen, we have hope of our resurrection. Life has purpose and meaning because he is Risen! That is good news to celebrate.