Tragedy Transformed Into Eternal Triumph

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”. – Mark 15:39

Mark’s account of Jesus’ death is an agonizing record of what seems to be a total failure. A mock trial, a brutal crucifixion, cruel taunts, a hurried burial. And for three days hope died in the disciples’ hearts.

1. W. Tozer explains how failure in the eyes of the world may be success in God’s eyes.

Walk With A. W. Tozer

“The current mania of people seeking to succeed in the world is a good thing perverted.

“The desire to fulfill the purpose for which we were created is, of course, a gift from God. But sin has twisted this impulse about and turned it into a selfish lust for first place and top honors.

“When we come to Christ, we enter a different realm, one infinitely higher than and altogether contrary to that of the world.

“Our Lord died an apparent failure, discredited by the leaders of established religion, rejected by society, and forsaken by his friends. It took the resurrection to demonstrate how gloriously Christ had triumphed and how tragically the world had failed.

“The resurrection demonstrated once and for all who won and who lost.”

Walk Closer to God

There is no greater success story than the resurrection, for apparent tragedy was transformed into eternal triumph.

That would be good news enough. But there’s more! Christ’s resurrection makes a similar success story possible in the lives of Christians who know the truth of this verse:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. – Galatians 2:20

That’s a success story with new chapters being written every day. One of those chapters is reserved just for you. How will today’s page read?

Excerpted with permission from Once-a-Day Walk with Jesus Devotional, copyright Zondervan.

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