Reflections on the Resurrection

The words of Jesus Christ remind us of his unique position as the Son of God, raised from the dead, who is alive forevermore.

This morning as my thoughts turned toward the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, I remembered a poem inspired by the accomplished work of Jesus Christ expressed in Colossians 2:12-15 from the New Living Testament:

¹² For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

 ¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

 

Having…Having…Having…Having…Having…He made….

                     Colossians 2:12-15

                        

Having forgiven all trespasses against us:

     For every time we tried but failed and missed the mark,

     When our flesh faltered, we received new strength within.

     Christ, the Lord, washed and cleansed us from the stain of sin.

     God made us to be lights that overcome the dark.

     He set us free to sing on the wing, as a lark,

Having forgiven all trespasses against us.

Having wiped out handwriting of ordinances:

     The hand that records each failure to keep the Law

     Graciously blots out each shortfall and each mistake

     And releases us from penalty, for Christ’s sake.

     Through the eyes of love, He looked beyond what He saw

     To decree that flesh should not be a fatal flaw,

Having wiped out handwriting of ordinances.

Having taken it far from us, out of the way:

     Guilt and shame removed and replaced with righteousness;

     Transformed and fashioned with a new identity,

     We stand in His presence, revealing the mystery.

     Hurled and buried in the sea of forgetfulness,

     The curse of sin has been replaced with blessedness,

Having taken it far from us, out of the way.

Having nailed it to the cross as a bold display,

     Turning into triumph what seemed to be disgrace,

     Symbolic sign displaying both shame and glory,

     Dramatic unfolding of the greatest story.

     To show his love for all, Christ took our place

     To flaunt the victory right in the enemy’s face,

Having nailed it to the cross as a bold display.

Having disarmed principalities and powers,

     Our triumphant warrior defeated every foe,

     Crushing at once the head of the deadly serpent

     To achieve our victory to the fullest extent.

     To perform the greater works of Christ as we grow,

     God enlightens and empowers that we might know,

Having disarmed principalities and powers.

He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

     Coming attractions describe the Spectacular

           Super-conquering show:

     The captor has been made captive, prisoner without parole

           in his own prison,

     The accuser of brethren, once idolized,

           now the source of derision,

      Stripped, crippled, toppled and trampled

           To be brought ever so low;

     A foretaste of the day when every tongue shall confess

           And every knee shall bow.

He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Earlier in the month I had published my Top 10 List of Songs celebrating the Resurrection. Each individual article in the series includes historical information regarding the song along with a video rendition of some of my favorite “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” Many of the songs in the list could be associated with the passage from Colossians that makes known the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ over the enemy, displayed so magnificently in the resurrection and its victorious aftermath. Click here to read about and listen to some of the favorite songs of this special season.