The Lenten season climaxes on Resurrection Sunday and evolves into Eastertide until Pentecost Sunday. Righteousness in sinful man was made possible by faith when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When you place your faith in Christ, He takes up life in you. When the Spirit of Christ lives in you, you too will receive a resurrection by the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead! Now these are some mighty powerful effects of righteousness. Romans 8:10-11 explains:
“Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.”
This message is so powerfully received on Easter Sunday. During this Lent season, I was privileged to attend a memorial service during Lent that was so full of hope and joy; it truly made me yearn for heaven. It was the celebration and Thanksgiving for the life of George T. Marchmont, Jr., July 7, 1924-March 16, 2011. I told the pastor who led the service when I saw him at another event, how great it was. I know that sounds amiss since the world lost a dear, great man. Yet the service made me yearn for heaven. We can’t wait to go to heaven when things on earth are overwhelming, and we don’t think we can take it anymore. However, I wanted heaven because the Scriptures, songs, singers and preachers were speaking the truths of Jesus taught us as directed by George himself. To those gathered there who knew George, it wasn’t the first time we heard of his love and faith in Jesus. George’s whole life was about his love for Jesus.
One of the best choices George made, after loving Jesus, was choosing Janet to be his wife. Janet was a beautiful, strong, faithful companion throughout his grueling fight against the cancer that was devouring in his body. She sat by his side, bringing hope and love. When Brian and I last visited with them in hospice, she was ever beaming, concealing her deep sorrow from George, grateful for every moment she had with him. She wrote about the truths that gave her this strength in a poem that was shared at his memorial and that she gave permission for me to share with you.
To wait,
The early vigil keep
Bright moments
Interspersed with sleep
To sit
And reminisce the years
Erasing
Lurking, looming fears
‘Tis faith
to trust and so abide
As Christ
Casts pain and grief aside
How strange
To laugh in hospice care
The wild and crazy
Dreams to share
The visions clear
Of days gone by
The talk
Of sweet potato pie
The hearing
Of a troubled word
No sense at all
Indeed absurd
To grasp the truth
Though oh, so hard
As angels hover
Now on guard
So soon, the thought
As love hangs on
So softly till
Each breath is gone
And then at last
The sweet reward
The reaching hand
Of Christ the Lord
And know
He’ll once again be well
In heaven’s realm
Fore’er to dwell.
—Janet Marchmont, March 2011
That is what Easter is all about. That is what righteousness brings. We have the hope of a resurrection. Death is surely the consequence of sin, and Jesus brings resurrection power through the provision of righteousness.
