"God ... gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist" Romans 4:17.
I enjoy working with my hands, and especially woodworking and home improvement projects. As I write this, we are in the process of purchasing a home that has a bona fide woodworking shop within walking distance of a home improvement store. This is either an amazing blessing or an expensive error.
The best even the most skillful craftsman or artisan can do is to make something from something. Our Father is uniquely able to make something from nothing, as Romans 4:17 states. He alone took the elements of the earth which He had created and formed the first man from those elements. The Creator is well able to recreate from the dead that which He originally created.
Romans 4:17 references a future reality as if it were presently true. It does not state that God WILL give life to the dead, but rather that He GIVES life to the dead. Perhaps this is why Jesus said that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob "is not the God of the dead but of the living" (Matthew 22:32). Although these men are long dead, our Father sees their future reality in the present tense.
None are unaffected by the enemy death. For some the pain is raw from recent loss; others have long lived with its lingering ache. Death casts a long shadow over life in this present age, but it will not do so forever. The God who can make something from nothing can take the essence of our deceased loved ones and make abundant life through resurrection. He does so through His resurrected Son, the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).
We could use a fresh infusion of resurrection life today. May the Risen One become especially real in our experience today, and bring comfort and encouragement concerning those who sleep the sleep of death, awaiting the resurrection call.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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