Download a study guide for this article at
www.thelutheran.org (click on “study guides”).
doesn’t measure us as we measure ourselves. We’re not just a before picture to God, any more
than the world of Jesus’ time was a place beyond hope and salvation.
After the ‘after’ And now for the “aſt ers.” We can’t wait to check out the aſt er photos, can
we? Marble-topped kitchen islands and cinched-up waistlines provide a satisfying diff erential to what went before. New life can indeed be thrilling—bravo to new kitchens and bodies. But as exciting as all that feels, the Easter news is so
much deeper and more durable. Our “Do It Yourself Resurrections” bring a temporary rush of liberation but prove to be only as sustainable as we are. We seek Jesus, the resurrected one, the bringer of eternal life, who transformed the world and cares about each of us, no matter how we look or feel or live. God meets us before our “befores,” with a love that
created each of us as a child of God. God meets us aſt er our “aſt ers,” when our fragile imitations of God’s new-life miracle take us right back to trying to save ourselves. I started this article by telling you that I write chil-
dren’s curriculum. I know that when kids get involved in Bible stories through various learning modalities, the stories stick with them. And that’s true for adults as well. Now I invite you to join me in digesting some of these before-and-aſt er ideas by “writing the resurrec- tion” with me. All you need is a pen, paper and timer. All you have
to do is think and write in fi ve-minute increments your answers to a few resurrection questions (see writing spaces above and at leſt ). T ink fi ve minutes sounds too short to say much?
You’ll be amazed at how that time becomes enough when you keep your pen moving. And besides, anyone can endure fi ve minutes of writing.
© ISTOCK/PFLEMMING
April 2015 33
And, fi nally, write with me for fi ve minutes about one of these “after” questions or prompts:
• Aft er Jesus returned .… • Aft er I stop trying to get everything just right .… • Aft er I wandered away from aft er, how did God meet me again in before?
• Aft er we heard the Easter story this year .…
a a a a a a a a a a a a
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