Feel the power of Christ's resurrection
"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection."
- Philippians 3:10 (KJV)
I noticed the green stem of my neighbor's flowers growing in their flower bed. It excited me to think that we're in the season of colorful flowers blooming after such a long, cold, gray winter.
There's nothing like the resurrection of springtime, with green grass, budding leaves and colorful blooms to soothe our senses and lift our moods.
I find it mysterious how the delicate blades of grass and flowers manage to push their way up through the hard soil to allow their physical bodies to resurrect.
I imagine that first Easter (Resurrection) Sunday, Jesus's followers must have thought much the same way when they discovered he had resurrected.
That first Easter morning, as a woman follower of Jesus went to the tomb to perform a typical burial ritual, she encountered a problem. The stone had been rolled away and the body was gone!
Like a good mystery story, the biblical account continues to unfold and shows that, when in the garden questioning the gardener, the woman comes face-to-face with Jesus himself. She then jubilantly runs to inform the other followers, "He is risen!" (Matthew 28:6).
Jesus resurrected from the dead, just as he proclaimed to his followers he would. This event still has the same meaning for us today as the mystical event did back then. Because Jesus resurrected, by believing we, too, can receive eternal life and healing from our addictions and afflictions. A literal resurrection for our bodies and souls can take place.
Forty-six years ago, my five-week-old infant was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and pneumonia. The doctors gave little to no hope of his survival. It was a bleak diagnosis on a day called "Good Friday."
Even though nothing felt good about this news, I held on to my faith and God's power to resurrect. I called for the ministers of the church to anoint him with oil and pray for the resurrection of my newborn's health.
On that Easter Sunday, as I slipped my hand inside the incubator and placed my finger in the palm of his tiny hand, with his weak grip my little one wrapped his hand around my finger. I must have felt as jubilant as the woman at the empty tomb when she discovered the power of Christ's resurrection.
This Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as we face the negative world events around us, and even those in our personal lives, we must hold on to the hope that Jesus Christ's resurrection power brings.
Each day, as we look at God's representation of his resurrection power in the beauty of his springtime creations, may we can ponder and pray to know the power of his resurrection.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.