Jesus’ Ministry
February 14, 2019
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
I must confess I have a weird take on Jesus’ Resurrection, at least to many people. I do not question that it happened. I am sorry it had to happen. I celebrate that it did happened. The Resurrection, however, does not play a major role in why I choose to follow Christ. I know that is outright heresy to some but Jesus’ example of living love and his call for us to continue that way of being is at the top of my reason for being a Christian. Now some do say that the resurrection is the ultimate example of his love and that is true, but wouldn’t it have been wonderful for all involved, if that drastic step could have been avoided.
Why in the history of God is it so hard for humans to maintain wholeness? Those who long for Jesus’ return may want to consider that this time he is waiting for us to get our act together and love one another before he comes back to pitch his tent among us. If you were very clear in your instructions to your loved ones before you withdrew from them that they were to love one another, and 2000 years later they still had not figured out how to do that, would you be excited to visit much less come back to stay?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for forgiving us repeatedly for the same sins that separate us from you. Help us learn from our mistakes until we get loving like you right and you look forward to pitching your tent among us. Amen.