Despite Rain, Son Rose for Me

This morning I woke up and there was no sunshine. Clouds filled the sky and drizzle filled the air. I saw on the news where some folks trekked up to the top of a mountain to experience the same thing I did at the bottom of a mountain—clouds and drizzle. At least, that is what some folks might say about the day. It was nothing more than a cloudy, drizzly Sunday morning.

In the next several hours, myself and others were singing hymns like “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!” or “Up from the Grave He Arose!” Our day was anything but cloudy and drizzly! We were celebrating, as did the two Marys and Salome, over two thousand years ago. We were celebrating something wonderful—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, could not be held in a stone grave. As He promised, He rose from the dead and later ascended into heaven. That’s great news for believers in Jesus Christ.

In the book of John, Jesus says our hearts should not be troubled. He says that He is going to prepare a place for us so that where He is now we can be later. That’s great news for believers in Jesus Christ.

Christ is going to prepare a place for me! I love my life in the here and now, but I know this is not all that there is to life. Life is eternal, either in heaven or in hell. I prefer spending eternity in the first locale. However, to get there, we must first prepare ourselves. Just as He is preparing a place for us, we must prepare ourselves for that place.

I think it would be very disappointing for a lot of people, myself included, if Christ had not gone before us to prepare a place for us beyond the here and now. Jasper County is nice, but I would like to experience something a little nicer one day. Georgia is nice, but I would like to experience something a little nicer one day. The United States is nice, but I would like to experience something a little nicer one day.

God has blessed me richly by allowing me to live in these three wonderful places, but I desire more than citizenship in these three places, I desire citizenship in heaven. Without Christ, this opportunity would not exist.

There are a lot of pastors sitting at home or sitting in their church today, thinking, reflecting, and praying for the people in their particular churches and in their communities. They are racking their brains trying to come up with ways to get people into a relationship with Jesus Christ so that they, too, can have citizenship in heaven. Unfortunately, Satan and his workers are busy seeking to make folks citizens of hell, too.

I’ve got to do more to help Christ and our preachers get more folks prepared for citizenship in heaven than hell. You’ve got to do more to help Christ and our preachers get more folks prepared for citizenship in heaven than hell.

This morning I woke up to rain and drizzle, but my Son still rose for me. He did it so that heaven, not hell, might be our final destination.