There is no resurrection without a death

At this Easter time we who know the Lord naturally turn to consider the One who gave himself for us. Starting with His humble washing of the disciples feet, His actions and His attitude symbolize His willingness to take the lowest place. They show His patience with the immaturity of the disciples (and so with ours), His willingness to bear on the Cross the sins of the whole world (including yours and mine), and to forgive those who drove cruel spikes through His hand and His feet. In all this He shines as an example to imitate, but most of us fall far short of this most of the time. In fact we can't even start to be like Him without His help, not even close. If we are to follow Him and to become more like Him, to be transformed into His likeness, then we will need to go through a series of deaths and resurrections in the here and now!

We were looking at Isaiah 30 in our last weekly service. It's worth looking at! We were asking what needed to die in the attitudes of Israel of the exile, and what needs to die in us so that we can become more like Him. When we put our trust in anything except God (as Israel had done), we (like them) inevitable find out that it backfires (verses 1-5). When we continue to leave God out of the equation, trusting in ourselves or even others as opposed to God, we get into trouble. When we refuse to deal with the things in our lives that need to be dealt with (verses 10 and 11), then things build up and build up until, as in verses 13 and 14, the high and towering walls we have build to keep Him out bulge and collapse with a sudden devastating collapse.

Far too often we continue to peruse all our own way until the disaster, the loneliness, emptiness and the pain catch up with us. That is until we reap the living death that “doing it my way” brings. This part of us needs to die, our radical independence from God needs to die, our self seeking needs to die, our determination to get even with others taking revenge into our own hands needs to die, our pride needs to die. These are just some the many things that keep us from Him in the first place, that keep us from peace, that demonstrate that we do not trust Him to work things out for us. We think that if we don't be always be looking out for number one then no one will. And in doing this, we close our ears to His solutions. But when we come to the end of ourselves we hear Him say “I will look after you if trust in me. Do it my way and you will live."

When we find ourselves in this place of death, our salvation is found in turning back to Him in “quietness and confidence.” This is where our strength lies (verse 15). Until we come to this place our lives continue to crumble before our very eyes (verse 16 and 17). In the meantime, the Lord waits so that He can be gracious to us (verse 18). Like those who would rescue the drowning need to wait until the frantic struggling ceases before they can be rescued, so He waits for us to stop struggling, to come to the end of ourselves and cry out to Him in surrender. And when we do, He brings us many things including His comfort (verse 19). He shows us the way to live our lives, giving us teachers to show us the way (verse 20), and we learn to hear His voice guiding us in the way that we should go, and helping us get back on the path when we have strayed (verse 21). And not only this, He gives us a loathing for the addictions and the influences that lead us astray in the first place and kept us stuck. He tells us “You will loth them saying 'Get away detestable idols'” (verse 22). He also provides abundantly for us and heals all of the wounds of the fruit of our rebellion. He heals our broken hearts (verses 23-26).

So He waits for you and me, so He can do all of these things. He waits until we start to see and feel and experience clearly the results and consequences of our independence from Him. He waits for us to be willing to die to ourselves, for us to be willing by His Spirit to put to death the deeds and the desires of the flesh (Romans 8:13). And then He promises resurrection in the here and now. At the end of time, yes that of course, but also in the here and now. He came that we might have life in all it's fullness (John 10:10), but it will not happen unless we are willing to cooperate with Him in putting to death that which needs to die, so that His resurrection life may course through us. That is what this passage in Isaiah is all about. It is in turning to Him in quietness and confidence as we sit before Him that His resurrection power starts its wonderful work in us and gives us the will to do what is good and pleasing and fulfilling in Him. Truly there is no resurrection without death! Are you willing to die (am I) so that you (I) may truly live?

If you want to pray: Father I choose to cooperate with Your Spirit to put to death the deeds and desires of the sinful nature. Lord replace those desires that lead me astray, with a desire and an ability to worship You and to give You the praise, the honour and the Glory that You so richly deserve. In Jesus' name Amen