Newness of Life

Our pastor recently shared a story he had heard of a man in the Midwest who, after emerging from a snow storm, discovered a frozen dove in a stand of trees who died in the storm. He felt compelled to take the bird in his hands, realizing that the bird is God's creation, and he began to grieve that the bird died in the storm. Although it may seem strange, the man then took the bird and prayed that, if it was God's will, the bird would be brought back to life and fly away.

As our pastor shared, the storyteller then remarks that all of us want to know how the story ends, but he resists providing the outcome. Towards the end of the sermon, our pastor related back to the story he heard, reading from the storyteller: 'What's harder to believe: that God can raise a bird from the dead, or that He himself has risen, and that He also will raise you? Does the bird take flight? You want to know... Whether the bird rose to newness of life or not, if you are in Christ, the guarantee of the Gospel is that you will. The Maker of heaven and earth will scoop you up, cold and still, and warm your spirit to life.'

"Easter doesn't matter because of the bunnies, or the chocolate, or the eggs; it matters because Jesus rose from the dead. And that is a guarantee to you and to me that there is life after death, that there is hope in our despair, in our misery. Easter guarantees...'anything is possible with God.'"
--Erik Bonkovsky