The Puzzling Power of the Resurrection

If you have ever done a jigsaw puzzle you know the full range of emotions that come with the task. At times it is a struggle - desperately looking for the right pieces. The frustration that sets in as you think you found a match and then realizing that is not right. The feelings of joy that come when you get a section completed or finally find that piece you have been looking for. And of course, the great feeling of satisfaction that comes over you when you finish the puzzle, all the pieces are in place, and you can see the fruit of your labor as you have the complete picture and can see how everything worked together.

I believe a jigsaw puzzle provides the perfect picture of what Paul is talking about in Philippians 3:10-11. How can there be joy in suffering? How can he desire to go through the pain and agony that Jesus endured? Because Paul knows that each struggle is a piece that is fitting together to form a fuller picture. And every piece that fits together unites us with Christ in a profound and unexplainable way. Again and again Paul returns to the thought that when the Christian has to suffer, he or she is in some strange way sharing the very suffering of Christ. To suffer for one’s faith is not a penalty, it is a privilege, because we are working towards completing the picture.

And never doubt the promise that if we suffer with him, we will be glorified with him. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. Experiencing the power of the resurrection means that we are so united with Christ that day by day we come more to share in his death, so that finally we share in his Resurrection. To know Christ means that we share the way he walked; we share the Cross he bore; we share the death he died; and finally we share the life he lives for evermore.

But in order for Jesus to dispense life, death is involved. There must be death to self to experience a resurrected life. Jesus offers a new life to any of us, at any time if we are willing to give over our selfishness, our pride, our desire for complete control over to him. That may take us places that we would have preferred not to go. That may cause some suffering for the name of Christ. But the guarantee that is backed up by Jesus’ resurrection is that we will experience the power to overcome, not just when we die, but here and now. To know Jesus is to believe unwaveringly that he will complete the puzzle.