May 18, 2025

Pastor Shane Krause

Because He Lives—It is easy to become so engrossed in the details of historical events—who, when, and where—that we miss their significance. For example, consider World War II. For a moment just imagine the Allies had lost. How would the world be different today? What would life be like for those of Jewish heritage? Would we be speaking German? With historical events, you miss out if you focus only on the details because you also need to focus what that historical event means. The Allies won. That means something!
In this season of Easter, it is good we review the details: who, when, where. That reminds us that the resurrection of Christ is not fairytale or fable. It is a historical event. . . the historical event. However, we do ourselves a disservice if we simply recall the historic details of Easter without thinking long and hard about Easter’s significance. Jesus won. That means something! Because he lives, not only is our eternity secure, but we have abundant resources to face the present.
 

We Live Lives of Lavish Love—If someone saved you from a horrible death, what would you do to thank them? Probably just about anything they asked! You would be that grateful. Jesus not only saved us from eternal death in hell, but he won for us an eternity in paradise. What shall we do to thank him?
This week we see that Jesus asks for just one thing—love. He asks us, in every interaction we have with others, to demonstrate the same selfless love that he has shown to us. That is how we thank him. Fortunately, Jesus doesn’t just ask us to show love. Jesus empowers us to show love. The same divine power which raised Jesus from the dead now raises us up to a new and better life, enabling us to set aside our natural selfishness and self-glorification and instead live in a more excellent way. Like Christ, we strive to do everything for the benefit of others. Because he lives, we live lives of lavish love.

Because He Lives—We Live Lives of Lavish Love