There’s a famous claim that only two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin said it, and most of us have probably nodded along. But Jesus said something that cuts right across that idea. He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies."
That’s not a modest statement. If anyone else said it, we’d raise an eyebrow. But Jesus backed it up — and the evidence, when you examine it honestly, is remarkably compelling.
The Resurrection: Not Just Ancient History
Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross, declared dead, and buried in a sealed tomb guarded by soldiers — the best in the world at their job. Three days later, the tomb was empty. He appeared to more than 500 witnesses. His followers, who had been disillusioned and directionless after his death, were so transformed by encountering the risen Christ that they turned the world upside down and started a movement that continues to grow today.
If you want to explore the evidence more deeply, Lee Strobel’s book The Case for Christ is a brilliant place to start. Strobel was an atheist and investigative journalist who set out to disprove the resurrection — and ended up finding faith himself.
But here’s the thing: the resurrection isn’t just something we file away in history books. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us today. Every day. In our marriages, our friendships, our workplaces, our struggles. Every sunrise is a reminder that the Son of God rose — and that our God is living and present right now.
What Does a Full Life Actually Look Like?
Jesus also said this: "I have come that they might have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
Two things stand out in that sentence. First, it’s not a guarantee — there’s a human choice involved. And second, it raises a question worth sitting with: what is your life actually full of?
If someone who knows you well were asked that question, what would they say? Is your life full of stuff, or full of people who love you? Full of stress and anxiety, or full of peace and purpose? Full of despair, or full of hope?
We live in a world that constantly sells us a version of the full life — and it usually involves buying something, achieving something, or becoming someone. These are what you might call dopamine dead ends. They give us a brief rush, a temporary high, but they never truly satisfy.
One of the founders of the financial technology company Klarna — a billion-dollar business — described the moment his company became what’s known as a "unicorn." He booked a first-class flight to Las Vegas, stayed in the most expensive suite at the Bellagio, bought designer clothes, played poker, ordered unpronounceable wine — and sitting there, looking out over the city, felt more empty and unhappy than he’d ever felt in his life.
He’s not alone. The Bible is full of people who chased dopamine dead ends. Zacchaeus pursued wealth and power until he met Jesus. The woman at the well pursued relationship after relationship, searching for something that would finally fill the ache — until Jesus told her that the water she was drawing would never quench her thirst, but he could give her living water. The rich young ruler couldn’t let go of what the world was offering him, and walked away unchanged.
Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, explores this idea powerfully — how we elevate money, status, relationships, even good things, to the level of ultimate importance, only to find they can never bear that weight. There is, he argues, only one true source of lasting life: knowing Jesus Christ.
Resurrection Is a Daily Thing
Here’s something that can quietly shift the way you see the Christian life: resurrection isn’t a one-time event. It’s something that happens to us daily.
Becoming a follower of Jesus was never meant to be a single transaction — a prayer prayed once so you can secure your place in eternity and then get on with life as normal. It’s a daily surrender. A daily invitation for God’s power to resurrect the broken, discarded, overlooked parts of our lives and make something beautiful out of them.
Think of a table made from pieces of old wood pulled out of a skip — wood that had been thrown away, considered worthless. Restored and shaped into something people stop to admire. That’s what God does with our stories. He takes the broken pieces, the parts we’re ashamed of, the things we thought were beyond saving, and he restores them.
The apostle Paul put it this way: "I want to know Christ — the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings."
Three things worth unpacking there:
- Knowing Christ — not just knowing about him, but actually knowing him. This shapes not only where we spend eternity, but how we live today.
- The power of his resurrection — available to us now. Not just a historical fact, but a present-tense reality that can transform our everyday lives.
- The fellowship of sharing in his sufferings — which might sound strange, but speaks to something deeply human. We are not meant to carry our pain alone. We are made for community, for people who will sit with us in the hard moments as well as celebrate with us in the good ones.
It’s Not About Being Perfect — It’s About Living Now
One of the most common reasons people put off faith, healing, forgiveness, or reconciliation is that they think they need to have everything figured out first. They’ll do it when they’re older, when things settle down, when they understand it all better.
But Jesus never waited for perfect conditions to love people. He met them in the road, by a well, up a tree, in the middle of a crowd. And the invitation he extended was always immediate: come now, follow me now, receive life now.
The story of the prodigal son captures this beautifully. A young man demands his inheritance, runs off, wastes it all, ends up working on a pig farm. He prepares a speech about how unworthy he is to be called a son. He heads home, rehearsing his apology — and while he’s still a long way off, his father sees him, runs to him, throws his arms around him, and throws a party.
The father was never transactional. He wasn’t waiting to see the speech. He wasn’t calculating whether the son had earned his welcome back. His eyes were riveted on the horizon, and he was waiting with open arms.
That’s the nature of God’s love. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more, and nothing you can do to make him love you less. He loves you with an eternal love — through the mistakes, through the mess, through the moments you’re convinced you’ve gone too far.
And the older son in the story — the responsible one who stayed home and did everything right — was equally missing the point. He thought his good behaviour earned him more of his father’s love. It didn’t. The father’s response was the same: "Everything I have is yours."
No amount of worldly success makes God love you more. No amount of worldly shame makes him love you less.
The Invitation Is Open Right Now
You don’t need to understand everything before you take a step toward God. You don’t need to have sorted out your theology, cleaned up your life, or resolved all your doubts. As one person put it honestly about their own journey: "If I’d waited until I understood everything, I probably would never have taken that first step. I’m choosing to follow in faith and not by sight."
The life Jesus offers isn’t a life without struggle or pain or hard days. It’s a life where you don’t face those things alone. A life with peace that’s hard to explain until you’ve experienced it. A life that is being resurrected — daily, gradually, beautifully — by a God who never gives up on you.
Don’t wait. The invitation is open now.
