How Does the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Affect Your Life Every Day?

April 1, 2024

Since my earliest memories, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been special. It was the one morning I could have jellybeans, chocolate, and pure sugar molded into bunnies for breakfast, and Mom didn’t object. As I got older, I was fascinated by a holiday that defied being packaged for sale. Bunnies and eggs just don’t seem to stimulate the sale of stereos, DVD players, and other gifts like Santa does. Candy, bonnets, dresses for little girls, and that fuzzy fake grass is about it. Maybe Easter has eluded the marketing blitz because its only truly meaningful symbol is the empty tomb. I don’t think we are likely to see Wal-mart announce their “Empty Tomb Sale” anytime soon.

Easter is a great day to go to church, eat cheap candy, enjoy spring, and be with the family. But how does the resurrection of Jesus Christ affect our lives every day? God and Jesus have been taking quite a beating in the Gallup Polls since 2010. All over the country, when people are asked if they believe in God their responses have dropped from 90% to 80%. That is a very large change. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ has also dropped from around 90% down to 66%. Given this response, it appears that a growing number of people are questioning whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ would affect everyday lives or not.

Generally speaking, all the polls find the same result for those that identify as deeply committed Christians. There aren’t many of these people, maybe as few as 10%, but they are by far the happiest Americans by a lot, compared to any other group. This was calculated by a person’s involvement in their church and charitable activities, tolerance for people of diverse backgrounds, and their level of commitment to prayer. This group was found to be far happier in their day-to-day lives, even though only a small percentage of people lived such lives.
In stark contrast is Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2012, and are therefore 28 and younger. This generation does not believe in God. Half or more have grown up in a broken family as 50%-60% of the parents of Gen Z are divorced. Over the last twenty-five years there have been approximately 18 million abortions. This means that around 30% of what would have been the Gen Z were dead before they started. The spiritual impact of losing 30% of your generation is not to be underestimated. The generation of the Vietnam War knows all too well the spiritual impact of losing so many of their generation. Gen Z struggles more than any other generation, by a lot, with depression, suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, the inability to socialize with their peers, the inability to handle stress, and weakened academic performance.

If you believe the polls, it is estimated that approximately 10% of the population have made conscious decisions about the place of God and Jesus Christ and the importance of faith in the everyday hustle and bustle of life. They have realized that we live in a fallen world that is very hard, and it is not always fair. The power of our sins, and the sins of others against us, bring darkness, pain, and deep wounds we might carry for years, decades, or a lifetime. Committed Christians know one thing that others have not realized, but we all share in common, that Jesus died for our sins and our salvation. His life, death, and resurrection shatter the darkness of sin. In all of human history, no other king has stepped off His heavenly throne and done that for us. Not only that but, the Bible assures us that He is not dead, he is alive, risen to rule the world, as well as rule our everyday lives and that, through Jesus we can find forgiveness of our sins, as well as freedom from the guilt and shame of them, and healing from the wounds of life. Then, Jesus promises to give meaning and purpose to our lives which brings great joy and happiness. These are but a few of the reasons the Resurrection of Jesus Christ can affect every day of our lives through the power of faith.

How does the Resurrection of Jesus Christ affect your everyday life? How can the promise of Christ’s presence bring forgiveness and healing to your life? What are you doing to remind yourself that Christ is a part of your everyday life? By doing so you will begin to realize that Christ is always present with you. For when we experience Christ’s presence each day, we celebrate not only that HE IS ALIVE, we also celebrate that WE ARE ALIVE. (To find out more about Al Earley or read previous articles see, www.lagrangepres.org).