"I believe in the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting."
—The Apostles' Creed

When I was in high school I had a friend named Dave. He was the kind of kid everyone liked. He was cool and athletic. He was the star of the volleyball team. The girls loved his good looks. Everyone loved how crazy-funny he was. And Dave loved God. A lot. One day during our junior year, Dave didn't show up for astronomy class. I found out very quickly that Dave was seriously sick. Over the next few months I watched as he got worse. He couldn't walk and ended up in a wheelchair. Then he had trouble holding his head up or even speaking clearly. We found out he had a brain tumor. There was nothing the doctors could do for him. Dave got worse and worse. Before the end of our senior year of high school, Dave died. None of us could believe it happened.

I would like to see my friend again. I'd like to see the joy on Dave's face when he played volleyball. I'd like to see him whole again. Strong, athletic and crazy-funny.

I believe I will.

I believe that Jesus rose from the dead so that my friend Dave will, too. The resurrection of Jesus assures me that God has, indeed, conquered death. He physically walked out of the tomb. With his for-real body.

It's because of Jesus' victory over death that we have hope in the life everlasting. But if there's no resurrection, there's no hope, and Christian belief is just plain lame. Sound a little harsh? Well, check out something the Apostle Paul said: "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not" (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, cev).

So, belief in the resurrection of Jesus is huge. Because of it, I will see my good friend Dave. He will be walking. He will be whole. He will not have a tumor in his brain. No, I don't know exactly what his resurrected body will look like—or mine. But I do know our resurrected bodies won't grow old and will never die.

I believe in the resurrection and the life everlasting because it's a very important fact of my faith. But it's also way more than just a fact. I believe in the resurrection and the life everlasting because I'm looking forward to meeting Jesus and spending an eternity talking to him, learning from him, and just being with him. I believe in the resurrection and the life everlasting because I'll also get to spend a whole lot of time with my Christian friends and family members who have died. I believe in the resurrection and the life everlasting because in heaven there will be no backstabbing, no gossip and no cliques. There will be no more sin—the very thing that brought death into the world in the first place (see Romans 5:12-14).

I believe in the resurrection and life everlasting because I will live in a heavenly world full of real, honest love and compassion. And I believe in the resurrection and life everlasting because I will be able to see my friend and maybe challenge him to game of volleyball. And he'll destroy me, but I won't even care because it's Dave!

As Christians, the resurrection is our only real hope, and so let's not take it for granted or ever forget how important it is. And let's be sure others know about our hope—something this great certainly shouldn't be kept to ourselves.

Because of Jesus—and because of his incredible resurrection—we too, will conquer death. "O death, where is your victory?" says the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, niv). "O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death. … But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."

To that I'd like to add one single word: Amen.

With nearly two decades of youth ministry experience, Jerry teaches at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Grady, Jerry's son, is a youth pastor.

Read more from 'Faith & Values'

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