You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. – Acts 3:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 30, 2014): Acts 3

ABC’s new television show “Forever” is receiving mixed reviews in the early days of its network run. The show follows the adventures of Henry Morgan, who is over 200 years old (but doesn’t look a day over 40) and cannot be killed. Working as a medical examiner, Morgan struggles to solve crimes and if he is killed in the process he is miraculously transported naked to a nearby body of water. But for Morgan, this acquired immortality is a curse that he wants desperately to escape from – he wants to find a way to die. Morgan may be immortal, but unless there is a ratings bump the T.V. show might not be – “Forever” may be sort lived and Morgan’s wish for death will be granted by the network execs.

Peter is amazed as he talks about the execution of Jesus – and there is an element of “what were you thinking” in the story that Peter is trying to tell. I mean, exactly how do you kill the one who was intimately involved in the very beginning of the process of creation – the one who literally invented life? And yet that is exactly what happened. The religious leaders plotted and worked until the Messiah that they were waiting for was dead. But God raised the author of life, giving him back his life. And Peter stresses that it is this that he was a witness of – he knew the reality that Jesus was dead, but he also experienced a Jesus who had been returned back to life.

But for Peter, this immortality was not about a curse. Jesus life was simply the way that it was supposed to be - and it could be no other way. Life always finds a way, and when the author of life was raised from the dead, then he continues to bring life to everything that he comes in contact with. And in the end it is the real test of whether or not something is of God. Because if it is of God, and in contact with God, it cannot help to be alive.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 4