My sister-in-law (sister-in-law!) sent this to me, and I thought it was great. I hope it encourages you during this Easter season!

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WHY HE GOT UP?

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
1 Corinthians 15:55

Have you ever wondered why Jesus got up from the grave? Could you have been so important to Him that He would defy all that man had ever seen? Were you on His mind on that third day morning when He took the sting out of death? Why He got up…

When we think about death in our own minds it tends to come with finality and closure. Our precious Lord and Savior showed us that the story does not always end as it looks like it will. Jesus was hung on a Cross. He then gave up His life and He died. He was then laid in a tomb. But the glory happened on the 3rd day when He got up out of the grave. He took the sting out of death. He assured us a chance to spend eternity with the Father. He loved us beyond whatever cost was counted up. He loved us enough to get up. Why He got up?

Jesus’ love for us goes beyond what our minds can conceive. Jesus got up so that we would not have to go down. He got up so that hell became an option that we could choose or deny. He got up so that life could have meaning. He got up because only He could clean up the debacle that happened in the Garden of Eden. He got up because we were on His mind.

There are many of us who have fallen and decided that getting up was not worth it. Someone hurt your feelings in the church. The church is too commercial. The church people live worst than the sinners. We blame our falling down on everyone but ourselves. When Jesus got up it was for you and I. He knew that you would face trials and tribulations and still He got up. He knew that people would talk about you and still He got up. He knew that you would turn your back on Him and still He got up. He counted up the cost of how we would treat Him and still He got up.

He got up because He loved us beyond ourselves. He got up because He knew that He was the vine that connected us. He knew that we would need Him even when we did not want to acknowledge it. He knew that He was what we would need when we realized we were in need. He knew. He got up. He loved us. He cared for us. He got up so that we could look up and know that we have a chance to live a life of joy. He got up because He was our only hope.

So today I pray that everyone truly appreciates that He got up. Because of His unselfish act we now can see the Father’s face. We now can sit and talk with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We now can sing one day with the three Hebrew Boys. We now live a life of expectancy of one day seeing our Father. He got up and took the sting out of death. He got up and to God be the glory for always having us on His mind.

Amen!
Sheila T. Flowers