Faith in the Risen Lord

What does it mean to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? It means that by faith in Him, the same power by which He overcame death is given to us. By this power, death is no longer the last word of our life - the barrier of death is transformed into a gateway. This power comes from God the Father and it is revealed every time we act in our faith in Jesus. To act in our faith, our abiding in the presence of Christ, is to express the love that has overflowed from Him through his wounds onto us. To act in faith is to be bathed in the blood of Christ. For me, all the disputes about faith and works are resolved when we see that the works of faith come from the inexhaustible depths of God's own heart. Since they are gifts from Him who loves us, since they were bought at the price of his Only Begotten Son, since they manifest the glory of the resurrection and anticipate the life in the world to come - how can we not share these works with the world? In light of the Fire with which God loves us, how can we let the lonely go unloved or the hungry unfed or the naked unclothed, or the homeless unsheltered?