Resurrection

November 28, 2018

“If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.” —1 Corinthians 15:16-20 MSG

“It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live.” —1 Corinthians 15:30-33 MSG

 The other day I was talking with a young man about turning his life over to Christ. When he’s not in jail, he lives on the streets, popping in to our Willow Mission every couple weeks for food and clothing. I found myself telling him how much better his life would be with Christ. That much is true, but I also told him that in some ways it will be much harder with Christ. Jesus never promised an easy road; instead he spoke much about persecution and trials that would mark our pathway. One thing I neglected to mention happens to be the focus of the Gospel, which is the resurrection. It’s interesting how we’ve twisted the Message into a religious version of the American Dream of the better life. St. Paul put little stock in such thinking. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 15 pretty well sums up Paul’s thinking and theology: “If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot.” 

Paul was speaking reality to these early Christians who by and large were composed of the poorer segments of society. He was under no illusion that the Gospel was a ticket to an easier or better life. His own calling and experience said otherwise. To become a Christian, to be baptized, was often a self-imposed death penalty. The only better life Paul had to offer was the resurrection life that only really kicked in upon death. The Life Christ gives does impact this earthly existence, but mainly by giving us strength and hope to hold the course, trusting that God would keep his promise of eternal reward for faithfulness. By contrast, much of our modern thinking and vision has become constrained till it reaches no further than the grave. 

Resurrection is not a postscript to the Gospel. It is the central promise of our faith. It is not escapism to hold forth the doctrine of resurrection; it is being faithful to the original message and unleashes the same power today that transformed the first century world. I am thankful tonight for Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 15 that like a divine GPS recalibrated my thinking and preaching till they align with the eternal Message that has been entrusted to me.