On Sunday, we saw the miraculous event of Jesus raising a widow's son back to life (Luke 7:11-16). "Get up!" (Luke 7:14), Jesus said to the lifeless young man, and the young man arose with new life. Normally, dead people cannot hear commands, much less obey them. But not even death could stop this young man from hearing Jesus' life-giving Word. It was a real-life example of "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live" (John 5:25).
The entire event served to point us to the greater life-giving salvation that Jesus brings to spiritually dead people. We can all see ourselves in that young man, incapacitated by spiritual death and unable to save ourselves. We needed to Spirit of Christ to regenerate us (Titus 3:5)—to breathe new life into us—as we heard and trusted in the life-giving Word of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14).
What an uplifting encouragement it is to remember how Christ has saved us from sin and death! If you're someone who follows Jesus, it's only because of his amazing grace in doing everything it took to redeem you for himself. He took on flesh; he went to the cross; he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins; with his resurrection, he conquered death for us; he ensured we would one day hear and trust the good news that is found only in him; his Spirit has renewed us and continues to transform us more and more into his likeness; he even promises to one day take us to where he is. This, my friends, is amazing grace!
This week, spend some time rejoicing in the newness of life that the Lord has graciously extended to you. Meditate on his work in your life. Sing to him. Praise him. Lift prayers of gratitude to him. After all, he has saved us and given us new life "to the praise of his glorious grace" (Ephesians 1:6).