When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth, he knew they were struggling to remain faithful in the midst of a pagan society. And, yes, he understood why many of them were beginning to doubt. So, in an attempt to remind them of the very basic premise of our faith he wrote: If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

What he meant was that without the resurrection - without Easter - the Christian faith would be a waste of time. Remove the risen Christ from our midst and there is nothing left except stories about a very good man who promised something he couldn't produce . . . the promise of eternal life.

But in fact, Paul writes,

Christ has been raised from the dead.(I Corinthians 15:20) In other words, the resurrection was God's stamp of authenticity on Jesus. On that first Easter morning when Jesus appeared to Mary and then the others, God was proclaiming to all the world: See! He is my son. Yes, he has overcome death. Yes, all that he told you is true. Trust him! Follow him! New life can be yours, too!

And so it is even today. Because of Easter . . . because of the Risen Lord . . . people of faith can still proclaim to an unbelieving world that there is more to life than any of us can see. Because of Easter, Christians understand that all of God's promises are true. That means the day will come when God's reign will be established on earth. Because of Easter, we can continue to trust, to follow, and to believe.

It is my prayer that during this holy season the Holy Spirit will touch each of you so that your faith is strengthened and renewed. As the hymn so boldly proclaims:

I serve a risen Savior, he's in the world today; I know that he is living, whatever foes may say, I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, and just the time I need him, he's always near. He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, he lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart!

May he live in your heart today!