“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.” (Acts 23:6). Death is inevitable. I’m not only referring to the Capital D Death that awaits each of us, but also all of the small deaths that we frequently face. We’ve all faced the heartbreak and grief that come from the death of relationships, friendships, careers, homes, to say nothing of the actual deaths of everyone from close family members to beloved pets. Even if we imperfectly inhabit a state of denial, eventually we must accept the reality of these deaths. Some of us accept that reality a little too well, however. Death just seems so final and permanent. When the circumstances insist that we call time of death on our dream because at this present time there is just no way that our hopes are going to be realized, we come to accept the finality of that death to the point that when we roll the stone over that tomb, we fully believe that the stone is immovable and the tomb is locked forever. But thanks to the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all of our hopes and dreams can live again, as will all of our loved ones that we have lost. All of us carry with us the sting of all of the paths we did not take, the ache of all of those missed opportunities, but Christ has removed the sting from death. Everything that we have lost or given up will be restored to us tenfold. When we repent, yes, we and our sins must be buried with Christ, but then we must also be born again and resurrected to a new life. Satan wants us to doubt and call into question the hope and resurrection that is available to each of us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but we can stand with Paul and boldly answer those questions with a resounding witness that the hope and resurrection is very, very real. Christ spent no more than thirty to thirty-five hours in the tomb before He had to get out of there. Let us follow His example. When our dreams have died, let us not languish forever in the tomb but give heed to the Master’s call to arise and come forth that our hopes and dreams may be resurrected.
