daily meditation: the resurrection

A few weeks ago my life group leader, Josh, gave me a short book, A Gospel Primer, and assured me that it was one of the better books out there. And, though there is nothing especially "great" about it, I had to agree. It's simple. It's concise. And, it is convicting.

It is those things because it is just the Gospel, spelled out in three different ways. It urges those who read it to daily meditate on the Gospel and so here I have decided to provide short, daily meditations on different aspects of the Gospel so that we might better live in light of it. (It will also force me to be disciplined in my own daily meditations.)

So, without any further ado, today's meditation on the resurrection:

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."

The implications and good news that result from the fact of Christ's resurrection are far-reaching but perhaps the two greatest things that come from it are that Christ is now seated at the right hand of God and we have been given newness of life.

Christ finished the work and conquered death so completely that he rose again and lived. He came alive to show us the image of our own deaths and resurrections in him. He sat down to give us a view of the rest of God that we will one day enter.

We are alive, together with Christ, and the same spirit that raised him is at work in us. That is an unbelievable thing. The same exact spirit that had the power to raise the Son of God is working in us to live lives worthy of the gospel.

The resurrection is essential because death without life would be useless. But, Christ has been raised and we have been raised with him. Rejoice in this today. Live in light of it and look to the risen Savior today.

-joe

the resurrection

1 Corinthians 15 is an awesome chapter; you should read it...more than once.

Last night at senior high I talked about the glorious truth of the resurrection of Christ and what it means for us, as Christians and non-Christians.

I grouped Paul's list in the first few verses like this:

If the Resurrection is NOT true:
1) My preaching and the apostolic witness is false
2) Your faith is worthless
3) The wrath of God is still on you, because you're still dead in sins
4) Those who have died for the sake of Christ are in Hell
5) We should be pitied because we're idiots

But because Christ has been raised the following are true:
1) We have hope because we are forgiven
2) Our faith is true and well-founded and we can have confidence in it
3) The witness of the apostles and pastors is true (there is absolute truth)
4) We are to be envied (the Christian life has worth)
5) Those who have died are resurrected to joy forever

And the main point of the evening:
6) We gain the resurrection!

This last point is the driving point behind the Christian life. It is what we live for and why we should strive to live for the glory of God with every ounce of our being. This is what drives Paul's statement "to live is Christ and to die is gain."

We gain the resurrection!

I used this analogy: I'm a fat kid. (Seriously, 245 lbs and 5'7") I run because I have a goal in mind: to lose weight and not be fat. I have a goal and I work hard at that goal because I want to accomplish it.

Paul says this "run the race in a way so that you receive the crown." Run so you win. Run so hard that when death peers at you have no hesitation but to continue to run because you know that after death is gain. Because you have a goal: the resurrection. It is gain!

Scream with the apostle, "O death, where is your sting?!!"

We gain the resurrection if we believe in Christ's resurrection. Live like it.

-joe