…if Jesus did rise again from the dead, then there is nothing ultimately to be afraid of. When we grasp at that which is not ours, it is because we are afraid that if we don’t we won’t have enough. Lust itself is nurtured in fear, fear of rejection, far of loneliness. When we lie, we do so because we are afraid that the truth will be embarrassing.
And if we believe in the God who raised Jesus, then, as our fears are dealt with at a deeper and deeper level, as they are met by the astonishing love of the surpassing God, we will be able to leave behind the image of a bossy, bullying God who wants us to keep His laws in order to control us, to squash our individuality.
If then, we recognize the truth about the surpassing God, the God who raises the dead, we can trust Him with every lesser task that may come our way. He can be trusted with jobs, even when they don’t necessarily work out the way we thought they should. He can be trusted with marriage. He can be trusted with money, even when it seems as though there is even less of it available than we thought. He can be trusted with old age. He can be trusted with death itself. Of course He can; He is the God who raises the dead, who takes precisely the situation where there seems no hope in human terms, and brings new life exactly there.