For many Christians, this is a week of celebration, commemorating the amazing gift of life purchased for us with the matchless blood of Jesus. Some turn away from Easter, though, denouncing it as having pagan roots. Personally, I love this holiday because it is an opportunity to celebrate Christ’s resurrection, one that Christians and unbelievers alike recognize, whether they acknowledge the significance of a risen Savior or not.

I recently read the verses in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he discloses, “…my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4, 5). I admit that I had a bit of a “hmm” moment after I read these words because I do recognize the gift and necessity of faith in God and Christ’s sacrifice of His life for our eternal destiny; yet I can’t say that I have given any consideration to faith in the power of God.

There is no event since the creation of the world that demonstrates God’s power more than the resurrection of our Savior. Paul, in referring to Jesus, proclaimed, “Concerning [God’s] Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3, 4). He goes on to write, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16). The message of the cross is an incomplete gospel without the good news of the resurrection, which Paul also taught, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved….that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, 3-4).

Peter also wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

On that extraordinary resurrection morning, a group of women encountered two angels at the empty tomb who questioned, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). Even now, people continue to look for life in dead places, for those obsessed by fleshly pleasures, a wonton lifestyle; and one consumed by a desire for prosperity, driven by greed or the sense of never having enough—for the religious, regulations demanding conformity or duties performed to secure a spot in God’s kingdom. However, there is no saving power apart from the resurrection of the one who bore our sins.

Paul warned Timothy, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, loves of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). The apostle clearly recognizes that an appearance of godliness has the potential to cover up depravity and spiritual tombs.

Yet the same power that raised Christ from the dead enlivens and empowers all who cling to the hope of His resurrection: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11); and “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord….and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection….” (Philippians 3:8-10).

Even though at times we do not feel that the power of God is at work within our lives, particularly when the struggles and dynamics of residency within this world overwhelm us, it is essential to remember that our citizenship is elsewhere. When our choices and attitudes do not reflect His righteousness, like Paul, our confession and hope lie in “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14).

Because of the resurrection, we have life, we are justified in the presence of God, we have hope, we have freedom and victory, we are adopted into His family, we have the power of the Holy Spirit resident within our lives, we are being transformed, and we have an eternal relationship with the one who loves us like no one else—we need search nowhere else for what our hearts desire.