Community Submission | By Tim Leffler
At the cross, Jesus carried our sin, our guilt, and our separation.
If the story ended there, we would see love, but have no reason to believe anything could change.
But it did not end there.
Jesus rose from the dead.
“He is not here, but He has risen” (Luke 24:6)
This is not presented as a symbol, but as something that happened.
People saw Him.
Touched Him.
Spoke with Him.
Shared meals with Him.
“He appeared to more than five hundred...” (1 Corinthians 15:6)
The resurrection answers a question we all carry: Is death the end?
The resurrection says no.
“Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54)
It means the things we fear most — death, loss, and the sense that everything ends — are not the end of the story.
It also means that what Jesus did on the cross was enough.
Most of all, it tells us who He is.
“He was declared to be the Son of God…by His resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)
Because He rose, everything He said stands.
And what happened to Him — is now offered to us.
New life is possible. Not through effort, not through religion, but through Him.
“God made you alive together with Christ” (Colossians 2:13)
Your past does not have to define you.
The distance you feel does not have to remain.
This is why Christians have hope — even in suffering.
Not because life is easy, but because death has been defeated and God is not far.
If something in you is beginning to believe — you may be closer than you think.
But hope is not something to admire.
It invites a response.
