Robert E Rasmussen.com

Often resurrection is considered primarily or solely as that which will happen to disciples at the end of the age. Praise God that is true. Christ defeated death through His resurrection. But Scripture clearly teaches the reality of the resurrection in our present journey with the Master:

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:4-5).

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:10,11).

Because Jesus is alive today, our following Him is not merely the preservation of past memories. We are not simply keeping Him alive in our thoughts. Instead, He actually walks alongside us as Jesus did with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35).

As we follow the Jesus way, burial leads to resurrection. As we have said elsewhere, Jesus’ story did not end in the tomb, and neither does yours. Resurrection is the passion of God to complete the gospel story in you.

Here is an amazing key to understanding where you are along the Jesus way. Clarify your story by working backwards: If you want to know where resurrection-life is being manifest in you, look where you have had a burial-like experience. And when you want to identify a burial-like experience, search for the Golgotha-like experience which required sacrifice. Finally, look for the Gethsemane experience where God initiated this gospel cycle by asking you to surrender to His will over your own.

You may wonder why I choose the “manifestation” as the main idea of present-day resurrection. Why not focus on new life, or power, or glory? Why not victory, or shalom, or healing? Why not passing the test, or learning the lesson? These are all quite wonderful. But resurrection is not primarily about us. It’s is about God fulfilling His promises in the Son. As His crucifixion loomed, Jesus said in His disciple’s presence:

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:27-28a).

On the eve of His death, and just after Judas had gone out to betray Him, Jesus referred again to the manifestation of His glory in His impending crucifixion.

“So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately” (John 13:31-32).

And so I am convinced that we go through these rigorous gospel cycle experiences primarily to make Christ manifest as the risen Lord who lives in and through us. Without comparison, this is the most profound experience affordable to any man, woman, or child.

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For my third example, I return to our difficult trip from Kenya and my wife’s cancer diagnosis. Before I do, allow me two caveats: One, I apologize that this section is depressing. These are hard stories, as are burial seasons. Two, I do not want my personal stories to give you the impression that my wife was burdensome. On the contrary, my marriage to Lyn was the best thing to happen to me. She was fun, adventurous, godly, loyal, and a deeply spiritual woman of God. Many times she held me up and kept me going through the difficulties. How I thank God for her!

In our shared burial-like experience following leukemia, we encountered many emotions – loss, confinement, waiting, grief, confusion and doubt. To be quite honest, I struggled to understand why God allowed this terrible disease to afflict my wife when it was she who had sacrificed more than me to go to Africa. To me, it was an adventure, unknown but much anticipated. For Lyn it was unknown and scary. She sacrificed to leave beloved family and friends behind for an undetermined number of years. So when, after ten years, Lyn was afflicted, I was broken and questioning the goodness of God. I could not stomach trite advice about faith and sovereignty. We merely trudged through the mud, one sludgy step at a time, for months which turned into years.

I am glad to say that through the chemo and bone marrow transplant and the years of recovery and regaining strength, Lyn and I had fellowship together with Christ in a precious way. With her example of amazing faith, and the encouragement of some brothers, I was enabled to hang on the God and abide in Christ. I did not curse God, even though I did not understand Him. Lyn and I experienced solitude, listening to God, transition and eventually hope. We reaffirmed daily and often hourly, our surrender and sacrifice. Because we had been at death’s portal, we had given up everything. We were holding nothing back from God. Our abiding together with Christ made our leukemia saga one of our most precious memories. In fact, the burial season following cancer gave birth to the truths presented in the book. For that I am truly grateful.

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