As Christians journey through the season of Lent, I find myself drawn each day to its deeper meaning—especially as we navigate a rapidly changing world and the ongoing war in Iran. Lent invites us to prepare our hearts for Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
In a world burdened by uncertainty and conflict, the hope of the Resurrection is not just meaningful to me—it is necessary. Who wants to live in a world without a sacrificial and loving God, a world where we are left to face war, disease, and sin entirely on our own? Who wants to live in a reality where nothing exists beyond the physical—only what can be touched and seen? Not me.
Recently, a question has been lingering with me: What if I lived as if Jesus rose from the dead? During this Lenten season, I want to sit with that question and explore what it might mean for my life.
Before answering it, I find it helpful to place myself within the story of the resurrection itself—at the moment Jesus was dying on the cross. With each painful breath, He knew He was nearing the completion of His earthly mission. Finally, He cried out, “It is finished,” and then He took His last breath.
Dying on that cross was the hardest thing Jesus was ever called to do.
Think about the most difficult thing you have attempted. Was it running a marathon—summoning every ounce of strength to cross the finish line, only to collapse in relief? Was it walking out of the hospital after your final chemo treatment? Was it taking your last college exam before graduation?
One of the most powerful experiences of finishing something difficult for me was bringing our daughter home from China in 1998. After a grueling two-year adoption process, we landed at LAX with her safely in our arms. The waiting, the uncertainty, the emotional exhaustion—it was finally finished.
Now magnify that feeling and consider what Jesus may have experienced when He said, “It is finished.” His suffering was ending. His life under the weight of hunger, temptation, persecution, and pain was complete. His work of obedience was finished—even as He prepared to leave behind His closest friends.
From the perspective of those who loved Him, it truly looked finished. His body was taken down, placed in a tomb, and sealed behind a stone. To them, the story ended in defeat. Their hopes appeared buried along with Him.
But the cross was not the end of the story.
Jesus had not yet completed what He came to do. After three days in the grave, He would shatter every expectation of what seemed possible. He would rise from the dead—and Mary Magdalene would be the first to see her risen Lord.
Imagine the jolt that ran through Mary when Jesus spoke her name as she wept outside the tomb. In an instant, her grief gave way to wonder—she who had been mourning was now running to proclaim that Jesus was alive (John 20).
What strikes me is how quickly everything changed—not because Mary found new strength, but because Jesus found her and spoke her name. It reminds me that even when my sorrow feels overwhelming and my hope feels buried, Christ is often closer than I realize, calling me forward into life when I least expect it.
As I reflect on the victory Jesus proclaimed on the cross and the joy He gave Mary at the empty tomb, hope stirs again. I may not see it fully now, but I trust that what Jesus accomplished is God’s declaration that sin and death will not have the final word.
So what would it look like to live as if Jesus rose from the dead?
I would live grounded, secure, and confident that Jesus has dealt decisively with sin and death—even when it requires spiritual eyes to see it. I would continue to enter the resurrection story and, like Mary, allow myself to be astonished again and again: I have a risen Savior.
I would continue to worship alongside others who share that same hope of resurrection. Last Wednesday night, I joined fellow believers at Lifegate Denver to sing, pray, and praise God. We gathered in groups of three and four to pray for the people of Iran. In that space, we were like Mary—awed by the power of a sovereign Lord who still has the final say. What we shared there was marked by humility, hope, community, and faith—the fruit of believing in Jesus’ finished work.
My prayer today not “as if” but “because” Jesus rose from the dead:
