Today's Scripture
One Year Bible Daily Reading – 2 Chronicles 32-33; Luke 11:1-28
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36 Look, fool! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t come back to life unless it dies. 37 What you put in the ground doesn’t have the shape that it will have, but it’s a bare grain of wheat or some other seed. 38 God gives it the sort of shape that he chooses, and he gives each of the seeds its own shape. 39 All flesh isn’t alike. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind of flesh, birds have another kind of flesh, and fish have another kind. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The heavenly bodies have one kind of glory, and the earthly bodies have another kind of glory. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, the moon has another kind of glory, and the stars have another kind of glory (but one star is different from another star in its glory). 42 It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay. 43 It’s degraded when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in glory. It’s weak when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in power. 44 It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.
If there’s a physical body, there’s also a spiritual body. 45 So it is also written, The first human, Adam, became a living person,[a] and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46 But the physical body comes first, not the spiritual one—the spiritual body comes afterward. 47 The first human was from the earth made from dust; the second human is from heaven. 48 The nature of the person made of dust is shared by people who are made of dust, and the nature of the heavenly person is shared by heavenly people. 49 We will look like[b] the heavenly person in the same way as we have looked like the person made from dust.
50 This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s kingdom. Something that rots can’t inherit something that doesn’t decay. 51 Listen, I’m telling you a secret: All of us won’t die, but we will all be changed— 52 in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the final trumpet. The trumpet will blast, and the dead will be raised with bodies that won’t decay, and we will be changed. 53 It’s necessary for this rotting body to be clothed with what can’t decay, and for the body that is dying to be clothed in what can’t die. 54 And when the rotting body has been clothed in what can’t decay, and the dying body has been clothed in what can’t die, then this statement in scripture will happen:
Death has been swallowed up by a victory.[c]
55 Where is your victory, Death?
Where is your sting, Death?[d]
(56 Death’s sting is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.) 57 Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 As a result of all this, my loved brothers and sisters, you must stand firm, unshakable, excelling in the work of the Lord as always, because you know that your labor isn’t going to be for nothing in the Lord.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
Contributed by Daphne Huffman
I’m not a master gardener by any means, but I’ve always loved seeds and bulbs and the hope they bring for spring time, much like Hymn of Promise: “unrevealed until its season, only God alone can see”. Growing up in rural Michigan, I followed my dad around our big vegetable garden, dropping seeds into the long rows he hoed. As much as I disliked having to pull weeds, it was fun to see what sprouted from those seeds, then later eat the bounty and share it with our neighbors.
I now have a fair collection of seeds. Many I confiscate by picking the dying blooms of neighbors’ cone flowers, marigolds, black-eyed susans, sunflowers, and other flowers that grow within reach of my evening walks.
I sometimes neglect to label them after drying and filing them in recycled envelopes.
When our grandson stayed with us in July, he asked if he could plant seeds that he found on the counter after I had sliced lemons for tea. I gave him a small clay pot and potting soil, and within a few weeks, pretty green plants sprouted. He carefully waters them and excitedly shows them to me when we talk via FaceTime.
There are many references to seeds in the Bible, such as today’s reading. Seeds are a big part of God’s masterful plan. As Christians, we should strive to sow seeds of faithfulness by living as Christ taught us. We can all plant seeds of hope in the hearts and minds of others by speaking of God’s love. We should also speak of God’s kingdom and the victory of immortality that follows death for all who believe in His son, Jesus Christ. Let that be our mission this Christmas season, and throughout the New Year.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your son Jesus Christ. During this beautiful season of Advent, help us prepare our hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Let the miracle of Christmas bring us together in Christian love. Amen.
Click to subscribe to our Daily Devotion.
You will receive a devotion in your inbox every morning.