"...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34, NKJV

A few weeks ago, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  And it was awesome!  My siblings and I planned for nearly six months, and when family and friends gathered for the epic event, it was full of meaning and sweet memories.  We lingered in California for several days after, and my parents' celebration was perpetually the topic of conversation -- people we connected with, program elements that moved us, surprises woven throughout, stories of how we individually experienced the day.  Even weeks after the event, I found myself reflecting on it with my family and singing the song my siblings and I performed for my parents.  Why?  Why did we find ourselves continually talking (and even singing) about that day?  Because it was the abundance of our hearts.  Our mouths spoke of what our hearts were full of.  When our thoughts are riveted on a particular event or experience, we can't help but keep talking about it, singing about, sharing with others about it.  So when we listen to the early church in Acts, we shouldn't be surprised to hear their mouths continually speak of what their hearts were abundantly filled with:  the resurrected Christ.  As we approach Resurrection weekend, there's no better time to let our hearts be filled with the same -- not just to be certain of the fact of Jesus' resurrection but to refresh the living hope we have because of Jesus' resurrection.

A GENERATIONAL HOPE

This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.  Acts 2:32-33, NKJV

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter made it clear that the Holy Spirit had been poured out as a direct result of Jesus' resurrection and ascension.  In other words, had there been no resurrection, there would be no outpouring of the Spirit.  Winding down his message, Peter explained that through repentance, baptism, and the remission of sins we all can open our lives up to receive the gift of the Spirit (2:38), but then he tagged on a significant line that adds a perspective of legacy beyond our own experience: 

For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.  Acts 2:39, NKJV

When we choose repentance and embrace God's forgiveness, the gift of the Spirit is something bestowed on us AND our children too.  

Because Jesus lives, we have a hope that has generational impact.  

This is especially beautiful when we remember that many of those who heard Peter that day may well have been in the crowd who saw Jesus' trial and crucifixion weeks before.  The generational impact of those terrible events were also spoken of when the religious leaders self-righteously cried out, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Mt. 27:25).  Those listening to Peter in Acts 2 were indeed "cut to the heart" (v. 36) both for themselves and for the lineage, feeling the awful weight of a generational curse they called down upon themselves.  But the message of the resurrection brought to light a generational hope -- the promise of the Holy Spirit for us and for our children.  When we look to Jesus in His resurrected glory, we have the presence of His Spirit that impacts generations.

A TRANSFORMATIONAL HOPE

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”  Acts 17:30-31, NKJV

In Acts 17, Paul took the opportunity to share the gospel with a largely pagan audience in Athens.  His closing appeal was an invitation, like Peter's, to repent, but this time to repent in light of God's judgment which had been committed to the resurrected Christ.  According to Paul, God's judgment is something "He has given assurance of" by raising Jesus from the dead (v. 31).  Notice:  Jesus' resurrection gives us certainty that God "will judge the world in righteousness" AND gives us a new lens of assurance about God's judgment altogether (cf. 1 Jn. 4:17)!  

In our minds, we may have difficulty drawing assurance out of the expectation of judgment, but apparently that's not the mindset of Scripture.  Listen to what all creation seems to rejoice over in Psalm 96:11-13:

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. 

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

Why would creation itself joyfully anticipate the time when God judges?  What is creation really looking forward to?  Interestingly, in Paul's letter to the Romans, the apostle described the hope of God's glory being revealed in our lives (Rom. 8:18), and he went on to specify that creation "eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19).  Are you connecting the dots?  Creation looks forward to the judgment because it knows that through judgment God's glory will be revealed in the lives of sinful humanity becoming children of God.  

The assurance of the judgment is that the resurrected Christ uses it not to condemn us but to transform us into His image.  

The assurance of the judgment is that it is primarily a redemptive act, not a destructive one.  The risen Savior uses judgment to restore His image in us and reveal His image through us.  That's what all creation rejoices in, and so can we!

This weekend, I pray that each of us would look to the resurrected Christ and let our thoughts be full of Him.  As we do this in faith, let's embrace the promise of God's Spirit in our own lives and even in the lives of our kids.  As we do this in faith, let's embrace the assurance that Jesus' judgment redeems us and restores His image in us!