April 6 The Dead Shall Rise
April 6
The Dead Shall Rise
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
—1 Thessalonians 4:16
What an odd Sunday afternoon I had. My mother-in-law recently purchased a family grave plot at a cemetery called Forest Lawn. However, she would not sign the papers until Ken and I looked at the lot and gave our approval. “Do I have to?” I whined at Ken. I could think of better things to do with our Sunday afternoon.
Being the submissive wife, I trekked to Forest Lawn with Ken, looked at my gravesite located in a section called “Murmuring Pines,” and listened to the realtor (that’s what she was actually called) remind me that what with my head “here,” and my feet “there,” I would have a grand view of the valley and distant mountains. That’s important, I told her. I also told her I did not have plans to stay there very long. Smile.
While the realtor and my mother-in-law conferred over the papers, I looked around at the hundreds of tombstones. It suddenly struck me that I was sitting on the exact spot where my body will rise, should I die before Christ comes. Sitting on that grassy hillside did more to ignite the reality of the Resurrection than hearing sermons or reading essays on the subject.
The Resurrection is not something to be spiritualized away. One day actual spirits will return to actual graves and reunite to rise. Dead men, one day, shall live, hallelujah!
Lord, You are the Resurrection and the Life and I praise You that eternal life is Your glorious gift to those who believe. One day the dead shall rise—me included!