Matthew 22:29-33 NIV
Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. [30] At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. [31] But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, [32] ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” [33] When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
Jesus is being quizzed by the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection about how should marry a childless widow when a succession of husbands die (a convoluted and irrelevant question if I ever heard one!) It is his final comment that caught my attention, that is Father is the God not of the dead but the living. He is not saying that God doesn’t care about the dead, but rather that his dead followers are alive. There is a sense in which even we who haven’t died yet are part of the resurrection now – we experience the quickening of the Spirit in our lives and are already confirmed as being part of his Kingdom.
Father, I’m not so much worried about a bucket list – getting things done before I die – but more worried about how I can make the most of my life to serve you knowing that your resurrection life is already mine in Christ.
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