We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 ESV
In Between Hope
and Despair
Saturday. The day between
Friday and Sunday. The disciples were about what Jesus had told them about His
death until Sunday. Until His resurrection. He was crucified on Friday, and
then imagine what they were feeling. Loss of hope. Despair. They didn’t
understand because this is not how it was supposed to be. They thought the new
kingdom that He spoke of was going to be a kingdom they were imagining. A
kingdom they dreamed would be earthly – matching their desires and political
beliefs. They could not be further from the truth. Jesus spoke of a kingdom
that would be built in heaven and nothing to do with earthly desires or beliefs.
After His death, they sat around talking and mourning His wasted life –
He said He was going to build a kingdom and now He is gone. They thought that
it would never happen now. They were at an in between space, but they didn’t
realize it. Because they were mourning what they thought was the death of their
Savior, and their beliefs of what was going to happen, they felt hopeless, and
despair. This in between place that the disciples were experiencing was a
pretty quick one – only one day! When Jesus rose from the dead, all His
previous statements began to make sense to them.
Sometimes we go through some desperately long in between places in our
lives. If we are not careful, these in between places can get us in real
trouble. The in between places are often the road between hope and despair. On
this sometimes long road it is easy to get bogged down in despair and lose
sight of hope. It is also easy to distract ourselves with things that are not
the best for us to take our minds off the where we are. On
this road we must be intentional to keep our eyes on Jesus, believe His
promises that we know to be true, and focus on hope. The disciples had gotten
bogged down in despair for a day…and then Sunday came.
As the disciples viewed all that Jesus said through the lens of the
resurrection it brought an amazing new perspective to His words and their
lives. They were ready to lay down their lives to follow Him with a new
purpose, vision and power. They realized that they had to die to their old ways
and begin a whole new life. They understood that there could be no resurrection
in their lives until there was a death.
Baptism is an ordinance we observe when someone gives their life to
Christ. It symbolizes the death of the old man and being raised to walk as a
new creation. It is the picture of repenting
of sin against God and committing to follow Christ in a new life. When our
pastors baptize someone, they will say, “Buried With Christ In Baptism And Raised To Walk In
Newness Of Life!”
It was a mighty power that brought Jesus out of the grave that day, and
this same power is ours. Jesus Christ promises us purpose, meaning, power, and
eternal life because of His resurrection. Because of the resurrection, we can have
a new perspective, one of hope and not despair, for the past, present, and
future. When we are on that long in between road, the perspective of the resurrection
will keep our hope alive, and we can live and walk in the power of the resurrection
for the rest of our days.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old
things passed away;
behold, new things have come. 2
Corinthians 5:17
