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 Thoughts on a Monday  

Today marks the 78th anniversary of the Allies invading France. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front during the Second World War.  

The military force was one of the largest ever assembled — about 170,000 men, a fleet of 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes. By nightfall, nearly all the Allied soldiers were ashore at a cost of some 10,000 American, British and Canadian casualties. The average age of an American soldier on D-Day was 26. As the war continued and more manpower was needed, nearly half of all American troops fighting in Europe would be teenagers.  

It is hard to imagine what that must have been like. Those young men were going into battle to square off against pure evil. The atrocities that the Axis powers were responsible for were some of the worst in human history.   The sad truth is that the battle against evil is ongoing to this day. I think the reason behind that is that the devil knows that he has already lost. He thought that he had been victorious by hanging Jesus on the cross, but three day later he quickly realized how mistaken he was. When Jesus came out of the grave, He claimed victory over sin and death. Satan then had no more weapons at his disposal because sin and death are his greatest achievements. Knowing that those two things have been defeated by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Satan now tries to spread as much evil and as many lies as he can.  

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. -Isaiah 25:8  

Had Jesus not risen from the dead, He may have been remembered as a good man who lived a good life. Some two thousand years later, however, His life and death would have little impact on us. We would still be waiting on a Messiah to take away the burdensome weight of our sins. We would be confessing and hoping that God would consider us acceptable. There would be no assurance of heaven and no promise of an abundant life here. A life without the resurrection is a life with very little hope.  

On an individual level, belief in the resurrection solidifies one’s faith (Romans 10:9). Because Christ lives, we also live. We have freedom from the spiritual death we deserve. We have access to fullness of life now because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Daily, we get to rely on the Holy Spirit to navigate life. By the Spirit indwelling us, we have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We experience freedom from the grip of sin as we choose to submit to the Holy Spirit as our guide. The Spirit fights against the sinful desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:17–18). The Spirit also produces Christlike character, evidence that the Spirit is conforming us to Him (Galatians 5:22). Life change testifies to the power of the resurrection.  

So, the next time you are burdened by the evils of this world, or the next time the devil has squared off against you, remember this: THE BATTLE HAS BEEN WON! JESUS IS THE VICTORY!  

Have a great week!  

-Jason