Today's Scripture
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Proverbs 6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58
Believe in the Resurrection; (1 Corinthians 15:30-32)
30 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? 31 I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? 32 Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn’t be the end of me? Not on your life! It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, “We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it. (The Message)
What does this passage mean to me/us? Contributed by Ellen McGimsey
In this season of Lent as we head toward Easter, we study, think about, and pray about Christ’s journey to His death and resurrection. But do you really believe that Christ was raised from the dead? Today’s science certainly wouldn’t support the claim. Modern medicine can do wonders, but it cannot bring someone back to life after being completely dead. It is one of Christianity’s mysteries.
A few years ago I read a book by Lee Strobel called, The Case for Christ. Lee was an investigative reporter by trade and also an atheist. His wife became a Christian and he noticed changes in her and became curious. He decided to apply his skills to the question of Christ – His existence, the belief that He is the unique Son of God, and His reported resurrection. Lee writes that some people in the first century believed that the resurrection of Christ was a hoax – fake news – and that Jesus’ followers had taken the body and hidden it, in other words that there was no resurrection. But Strobel made a point that has stuck with me. People don’t die for a hoax. Many of Jesus’ disciples died painful, horrible deaths because of their professed belief in Jesus and His resurrection. In light of this someone would have confessed to avoid that fate if it had all been faked.
I think this is what Paul is saying here. “Would I do this if it wasn’t true?” Because of the effectiveness and relentlessness of Paul’s preaching, he made many enemies and there were constantly plots against him. He also spent a fair amount of time in jail. His life would have been much easier if he stopped preaching. But Paul, like the original disciples, believed so much in the resurrection of Christ, that he was willing to face hardships, torture, and ultimately death so that other people could hear this good news. Today, we can be reassured of the truth of the resurrection through the words and actions of those who were first hand witnesses. Believe! Christ is Risen!
Prayer
Father God, Thank you for giving us the witness of Paul and the disciples to confirm the truth of the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and through Him the promise that we will live with you after our earthly lives are over. Help us to know, in the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds, the truth of this season and your overwhelming and abundant love for us.In Jesus Christ. Amen.
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