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Friday, April 5, 2013

the journey of resurrection

I've been wondering about something lately.  What does resurrection look like for us, this side of heaven?  What should we expect?  What should we hope for?  And how should we expect it to unfold?  My guess is that if we've learned anything at all these last few weeks from the stories of the resurrection in scripture, it is to expect the unexpected.  But I keep wondering, what does resurrection look like in our present lives?  Does it come suddenly?  Like the earthquake that shook the tomb and rolled the stone away in Matthew?  Or does it come in a more hidden way, as it did to the travelers on the road to Emmaus; so slowly and subtly that we will have to pay careful attention to be able to recognize it.  Or will it be a long, slow process; like a journey in which the destination appears on the horizon, off in the distance, but still seems miles and miles away from a current reality?  You know that it is getting closer, slowly but surely, but can't quite tell when exactly it will arrive.

I guess I'm wondering because of my hope that at some point this old, passing, manufactured, false self will finally be fully put to death and the new, eternal, God breathed, true self will rise from the ashes.  But for now I still have way more of one than I'd like, and less of the other than I truly long for.  The old just keeps hanging around, with nowhere near the amount of life it once had mind you, but still very present nonetheless.  And the new, although it keeps gaining more of a presence and a voice within me, still is not in complete control of my thinking and my believing; my being and my doing.  How much longer will this wrestling go on before I wrestle no more and am able to rest in the fullness of all that I was created to be?

2 comments:

  1. Jim, thank you for your blog. It is encouraging. :)
    I have a question. I had a blue book a few years ago and it somehow got lost in the process of moving. How could I get another one? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kaitlyn. Thanks for the kind words. I'd be glad to get a book to you, just email me an address to send it to. (jimbranch7@gmail.com)

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