Clearly, the reality of Christ’s resurrection is cause for great hope! The resurrection extends to all Christ-followers. Paul explains, “as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (v. 22). In this sense, Christ is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20). This is the very anchor of the Christian faith that holds in all storms of life.

Clearly, the reality of Christ’s resurrection is cause for great hope! The resurrection extends to all Christ-followers. Paul explains, “as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (v. 22). In this sense, Christ is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20). This is the very anchor of the Christian faith that holds in all storms of life.

In Ephesians 1, Paul prays that believers would know God better – and, in particular, that they would know God’s incredibly great power (v. 19). Paul shows how that power raised Christ from the grave and seated him on high. In chapter 2, Paul shows how that very same power has been at work in us in our salvation story. The extent of God’s power in our lives is revealed as Paul lays out for us the story of our rescue—and that story begins with Paul reminding us of our natural condition: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…” (vv. 1-3)

With images of war flashing across television screens, the world has plenty of despair to go around and not a lot of hope to spare. Life is pretty tough for many people, much of the time—and then eventually all humans die. This is the reality of the human experience in a nutshell. But in the Christian gospel the world is offered true, enduring hope. It is the hope of forgiveness—of a restored relationship with God. It is also the hope of life beyond the grave in a far better world. Do you know this type of hope today? This hope is available to everyone, and it is connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the world of mining, it’s often the deepest mines in the most challenging places that yield the richest treasure.  And sometimes it’s like that with the Word of God.  Sometimes the places where we have to do the most digging and work the hardest give us some of the greatest spiritual reward.  The Book of Hebrews is one such place.  It is full of treasure, but one needs to rolls up one’s sleeves and do some hard work digging to understand its message.