The answer for our need

In his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle wrote,

What humanity needs…is a transformation of consciousness. This consciousness “can flow into what you do and spread into this world” through “three modalities in which you can align your life with the creative power of the universe”—acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm.  [quoted from Steven Mathewson, Risen, 13.]

No.  What humanity needs is a resurrected Savior. 

We need a resurrected Savior because we do have a transformation and “alignment” problem, but we do not need our “consciousness” transformed and our lives aligned to a generic “creative power.” 

We need a resurrected Savior because we are sinners in every aspect of our being — what we do, what we say, what we think, and what we want.  There is nothing in us that hasn’t been stained by sin.  And because we are permeated with this inclination to sin (and regular practice of sin), we can do nothing to change ourselves.  We can no more engage in a self-improvement project than a leopard can change its spots or a man can change his skin tone (or gender, for that matter) (Jer. 13:23).

We need help.  And the resurrected Savior is the answer for us and our sin problem, our indebtedness to God, and the wrath that awaits us from Him.  On the cross Jesus Christ absorbed the wrath of God and paid the debt of our sin, and in the resurrection, God demonstrated His approval of Christ’s work and Christ defeated sin and death.  Sin and death are still foes, but they are vanquished foes in desperate final skirmishes against Christ (1 Cor. 15:55-57).

But the cross is not enough for us.  We also need the resurrection.  If Christ was only crucified in our place and not resurrected, then we have no hope of living either (1 Cor. 15:16-19). He would be just another dead religious leader and we would have no escape from death either.  But because He lives, we have confident hope of life.

The resurrected Savior is our confidence that while we do not yet have the ultimate prize of new bodies and an inability to sin, we do have the down payment on it now.  Christ’s resurrection is the source of both our final resurrection and our resurrected living now: 

• His resurrection is foundation of all our spiritual confidence (Jn. 20:8)
• His resurrection appearances to the 11 disciples affirm the ability to have peace and not anxiety (Jn. 20:17, 19, 26)
• His resurrection appearance to Peter affirms the availability of forgiveness for all our sin (Lk. 24:34)
• His resurrection breakfast at the Sea affirms the availability of fellowship despite our sin (Jn. 21:12)
• His resurrection questions of Peter remind us of the centrality of loving Him (Jn. 21:15-17) and the immense privilege of serving Him by caring for the spiritual needs of others (He calls sinners like Peter, and us to “tend My sheep!”)
• His resurrection is for our transformation from sin and all the corrupting effects of sin that we experience each day (1 Cor. 15:50-52)

We have a need.  And the resurrected Savior is the exact answer for what we need.