“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.”
By Otho C. Godsmark
“If a man die, shall he live again?” This question has confronted every soul that has come to years of maturity since the day that Adam, because of his transgression, was driven from his home in the Garden of Eden. Shall the dead really live again? Will our loved ones, whom we lay so tenderly away in the silent grave, ever come forth, and be with us again, that we may know them and realize that they have once more a real existence among the living? This question, as before stated, is one with which every thinking individual is brought squarely face to face; and one, we are sorry to know, that many, in their unbelief, ever fail to settle in the glorious light of the Scriptures. When Adam was driven from Eden, the promise was given that of the seed of the woman One would be raised up that should bruise the serpent’s head. This was to them the Gospel. It spoke to them of a coming Saviour who should unlock the dark prison house of the great destroyer, and call forth to life every son and daughter of Adam’s fallen race. It spoke of more than this; it told of the blessed possibilities of a life freed from the bondage of sin; of a life, tho fiercely attacked by the arch-deceiver, yet safely hid within the overshadowing presence of a heavenly Father’s love. All this, and even more, was couched in the promise made to Adam when it became necessary to deprive him of his beautiful Eden home. If faithful to God and His requirements, Adam should not only live again, but live to all eternity. This promise of an eternal life through faith in the atonement of a coming Messiah, was not made to Adam alone, but to every trusting, obedient member of his fallen race. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22. “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29. All will live again; all will hear His voice and come forth. Whether that awakening be unto a life eternal, or to hear the words, “Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity,” depends entirely on how we spend the time and opportunities given us here in the present time of probation. Jesus is our life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” We hear Him saying, in tenderest tones of sympathy, as He stands at the tomb of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, tho he were dead, yet shall he live.” Precious promise, given to the sorrowing sons of men! “If a man die, shall he live again?” Yes, praise His holy name, we shall live again! Tho our feet may pass through the dark portals of the tomb; tho we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, yet we will fear no evil; our souls shall be satisfied; our “life is hid with Christ in God;” and “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”