Death does not get the victory today. In fact, death never has to have the final say again because…

Jesus is alive.

And because He has risen from death, we can rise. Rise above circumstances and sadness and tangled messes of our own making. Rise above any fear of what may come or shame over what already was. Rise – even – above death itself.

Listen, we may believe all day and every day, that this ability to rise comes from our own self, done in our own strength. Except that we’d be wrong because it doesn’t. Not even a bit, since all personal strength fails eventually. No, it actually comes, unending, from Jesus’s own rising. And this fact, on this day, changed everything in this world. Because His rising brought Resurrection Power. It brought hope and marked a new beginning and a new age. Shattering all other deeply held beliefs and sad ways of seeing.

And, yet… we still might live thinking this man who lived all those years ago, while decent, or even sacrificial, has absolutely nothing at all to do with our living today.

We might think we’re fine without Him and have this whole living our best life thing down pat.

We might think the entire idea of Jesus is only for Sundays and holidays.

We might think it’s silly to believe in Him and that He’s just for the weak ones or weird ones or wrong thinking ones.

We might even think He’s a liar or a lunatic.

We might actually think about and doubt Him all we want until literal kingdom come. His own friend Thomas doubted after He died on that cross. And we might keep watching Easter roll on by like the grave stone every year, while we roll over the same old thoughts and doubts year after year…

Or… we can finally think hard about the why, lean into some faith, and finally do something different. Like, stop and question Him directly. Like Thomas did. Like literally tell Him we won’t believe until we see. Until we touch. Honestly doubt His rising out loud. Doubt His reality. Doubt all of Him, honestly. Because, He’s not surprised in the least by these doubts. In fact, He will meet us right in the thick and thin of all doubt and questioning.

Yes, feel free to doubt all day long, dear Friend, but I will ask you to have no doubt about this one thing… His rising changes us because it changed everything about this life, whether we acknowledge Him or not.

His rising ensures our future is good and resurrected. His rising means we no longer need to rise our behavior to meet some standard or rise to some new level of acceptable.

His life and death and rising means we can arise to meet Him in Heaven, as well as here. Rise our face to meet His face free of all shame and any fear. Rise our eyes above all that stands in our way because, in all ways and in every day, His rising brings absolute purpose to our life.

So, go on and raise that voice of doubt, but please do yourself a favor… Allow space for Jesus to answer you, with ears open to hear, because He is willing. Know why?

He. Is. Alive. And has, indeed, risen!