Christians are obsessed with the death of Jesus. Every major public prayer, especially in a church with any Calvinist roots will include a thank you to God for sending Jesus to die for us. With that exact phrasing. Rarely will God be thanked for sending Jesus to talk to us, to teach us, to live with us. And, if mention is made of Him rising again, it will be a separate item, not included in the things that He did for us. Apparently, Jesus died for us, but he rose for Himself.
But maybe I'm getting too obsessed with the phrasing of one set of extemporaneous prayers. We can't be that morbid and death focused, right? Look at your sanctuary next time you're there. How many crosses do you see? Alright, now, how many reminders of the empty tomb do you see? Look at the hymnals. How many songs reference the Cross, or Jesus's blood? Compare that to the numbers that reference his Resurrection. Less skewed, but I'm willing to bet death still trumps life.
Here's the thing: The story of Jesus is a story about life. It's about Jesus's life and our lives. It's about Him BEATING death. So why are we so focused on the middle of the story? I'm not here to say it's unimportant, and I'm not here today to talk about how this obsession has twisted our theology, I'm just here to note the incongruity. Lots of people have died. Only one of those came back. Perhaps it's time we stopped making sure everyone knows that Jesus died for them, and instead started making sure that everyone knows that Jesus lives for them.
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