Really, the word speaks for itself.  The Webster dictionary defines resurrection as the act of rising from the dead.  That is what it has always meant, but there are some who have sought to interpret it differently.  The Jackson CLARION LEDGER on Saturday ran an article on the religion page about modern day confusion over resurrection.  They claimed that in some quarters today the term simply means life after death.  Well, it does mean that, but it means more specifically a physical resurrection from the dead and not just a shadowy spiritual life after death.  There are many shades of difference in belief among the faithful.  What complicates matters considerably is the existence of a spiritual part of the human self.

Influence of Greek philosophy can be seen at this point in efforts to explain what happens to the soul at death.  This is the spiritual portion of the person.  When the body dies, say some, the soul flies away to God into some temporary place of "soul sleep."  The Roman Catholic Church seized upon this concept centuries ago in offering the concept of Purgatory, an intermediate place where the soul spent time being "purged" before the  ultimate resurrection and entgry into Heaven.  Does  Purgatory exist, or is it simply a figment of the Church's imagination and a source of income as well?  You know, purchase indulgences so that you can reduce your loved one's stay in Purgatory by a few years.  But who defines how many years that person must remain?

I must confess that in my own imagination, I sometimes picture souls with God.  I see them as disembodied spirits, of sorts, waiting on the Great Resurrection at the last day when God will raise their bodies.  Yes, it will be their bodies.  Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians in I Corinthians 15 that it will not be a corruptible body but an incorruptible one.  I would gather that Jesus' own post-resurrection body might be a model for us at this point.  Jesus' disciples knew Him and had fellowship with HIm.  He was very real and physical, but His was an incorruptible  body.  If I were to attempt to explain any more than that, I would be saying more than I know.

Essentially, when life as we know it ceases, the body is put into the earth.  What about the spiritual essence of the person?  I think it goes to be with the Lord until such time as the body is resurrected, but I suppose I will have to wait until Heaven some day to find out for sure.  The most important affirmation which Christians the world over can make today is the cry of the women at the tomb, "He Is Alive!"  I certainly believe that and encourage you to believe it, also.  This belief alone will change your life.