Because He Lives
It’s often a song that helps my mind drift towards things of God.
Tonight, it was “Because He Lives”.
And because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He livesAnd then one day, I’ll cross the river
And I’ll fight life’s final war with Him
And then as death gives way to victory
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know he reigns
What blessed truth.
God certainly uses the words of humans to help us praise and worship Him more.
When we hear something in our own words, it’s a lot easier to process and understand. God’s words are so much higher than us and sometimes, they can be beyond our comprehension. I do appreciate how God uses others to help my small mind see clearer glimpses of Him.
But truly, it is only because Jesus lives that I can face tomorrow. This is true even though I enjoy a very easy life by most comparisons.
I think of one who has devoted their entire life to serving the Lord. Not just by giving their life to him by declaring Jesus the Lord of their life, but by giving up many of the comforts of this life to give all that they are to the service of God.
On its own, if Jesus had not suffered, died, and rose again, living for Christ over all else has little value. If Jesus is not alive, then he did not conquer death. We are as hopelessly lost as ever.
But because Jesus lives, death has been defeated. There is forgiveness for our sins and mistakes and there is hope for tomorrow.
It is because of hope, hope that is born of Jesus’s perfect sacrifice, that we can face tomorrow.
Take heart, my friend. If you are His, you have no reason to fear. For regardless of your situation in this life, when your time comes, death gives way to victory.
As the price of your sin pulls you down, seeking to bury you underneath every rotten thing you have ever done, a nail-pierced hand reaches down to the mire and plucks you out. Then, it is over. There is no longer a struggle. You have been saved, completely and eternally.
Though we cannot see death defeated in this life, we can have faith that it is done. Romans 8:2 tells us how the law of the Spirit of life has set us free through Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
You will one day depart this life. Death and evil and sickness and injustice, as a result of sin, still hold on tight to their place in this world. But it will take but a moment of beholding the glory of Heaven to know our God reigns, and sin will become the past. In the presence of God, I wouldn’t be surprised if sin is forgotten.
A place where I don’t know how to sin. Where I can’t imagine it. Where all I can do is give praise to the One who had grace enough to bring me to Him.
One day.
