He is risen indeed! Now what?

 The celebration of the resurrection of Christ has come and gone.  We mourn and celebrate the great injustice that left our King dead, but saved us, on Friday and Saturday.  We joyously celebrate our King’s return on Sunday.  But what are we to do on Monday and thereafter?

There are many texts in the Scripture that inform the “now what” of the resurrection, but one of my favorites has always been Romans 12:1-2.  Paul has just given an astounding account of redemptive history in the first 11 chapters culminating in this great ending in 11:36: For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.  That is exactly how I felt after our resurrection day services yesterday.  I was awestruck by the grace of God and the overwhelming admiration of what Christ accomplished on the Cross.  Now, we need what follows.

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

In light of God’s faithfulness to us from creation to Abraham to David to Christ, here is what we are to do:

1. Submit our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

2. Don’t be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

And the power for these two monumental tasks…the mercies of God.  God mercifully makes us alive in Christ so that we may love and serve him, expanding his kingdom as we preach the gospel to the lost.  When we sacrifice ourselves to God as an act of worship, His priorities become our priorities.  We no longer strive for the things we, in our flesh, want most, but we strive to bring Him glory.

As we regularly prioritize the things of God above our desires and pleasures, the Spirit not only gives us the power to change the priorities, but he renews our mind.  As we kill our desires and flesh, we embrace His desires.  His priorities become our priorities not out of obligation, but out of love and worship.

So what are we to do on post resurrection Monday?   We are to worship our Savior by giving ourselves to His mission.  We have been purchased, set apart, chosen, to live holy lives, which honor Christ and bring Him glory.

May the Spirit empower us to do just that.

Soli Deo Gloria