“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die.'” — John 11:25

Resurrection Power

Jerry Rice beat the odds. It’s not easy to be a professional athlete for 20 years. He trained in an intelligent way and kept up his technique, toughness, speed and agility until the end. As a wide receiver, he fought hard to slow down the aging process, but eventually he realized it was time to retire from competition.

As we think about our mortality, it’s important to look toward God, because our physical strength, our intelligence and our money may disappear at any moment.

Everything in this world wears out eventually. Wood rots, metal rusts, rocks crumble, garments unravel and people age, but God is eternal. The Bible describes the difference between the temporary world and God’s eternal nature. “They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them and they will be discarded. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end” (Psalm 102:26). 

Though people rebuild and restore things, God is the only One who raises the dead. We may extend our lives with good food, exercise and medicine, but God has resurrection power. “For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). In the Old Testament and the New Testament, we read about several resurrections, including Lazarus. Therefore, Jesus explained this hope to Lazarus’ sister, Martha, before he raised Lazarus. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die…'” (John 11:25).

When Jesus rose from the dead, many eyewitnesses saw Him, and Christ’s resurrection takes out the sting of death for us. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).