Say a stranger buys you a lottery ticket in the gas station line as a random gift on an otherwise mundane day. You get back to your car and put the ticket on your dash. Might as well, you think.

You scratch the little shiny circles with the last dime you have in your pocket. You start to get excited as the numbers are revealed.

Turns out, you won.

Every time you look down at that ticket, you smile to yourself. Even if you haven’t cashed it in yet, you are a winner and things are going to be very different for you shortly. Sure, you may be technically in debt right now, but that’s about to all go away. Yeah your car doesn’t work, but that won’t be a problem much longer. You’re behind on rent, but soon you’ll be buying a new house.

What fortune! You didn’t even buy the ticket.

I think meditating on the Resurrection of Jesus is a lot like looking at that winning lottery ticket.

Your body may be broken, but you’re going to get a new one. You might be homeless but there’s a mansion waiting. You’re tired now but rest and refreshment is around the corner. Loneliness might be killing you but there’s a wedding feast coming up and you’re invited. You stumble through doing the right thing, but you’re getting stronger, even now.

Sin still tends to gnaw at you, but you know it can’t defeat you.

You were empty but now you’re filled with the Spirit.

You can hardly believe it.

You had nothing–nothing–but now you’re rich beyond your wildest imagination.

You’ve been forgiven, ransomed, redeemed. You’ve seen mercy.

You have God.

And you didn’t even buy the ticket.