This past Easter I had a stark reality check. Many Christians in and around churches live under an illusion - the illusion that Jesus didn't really rise from the dead. Think about it: if he really did come back to life after being cold and dead in a cave for three days, as he foretold, then that is truly a game-changer.
Living with Unshakable Hope
Because he is alive, we have hope in a world that really doesn't have any hope. We can find hope despite current economic conditions or moral decline in our culture, because we know that this isn't all there is. Even as we navigate daily life - deciding what to eat or wear, where to live, which bills to pay, what to do with our savings, how to raise our kids, what car to drive - these concerns are not all there is to life. We can live and die with a hope that is inextinguishable. Our hope transcends everything. This belief is hard to refute because the only way one could prove our hope false is by truly dying and coming back to show us otherwise.
The Foundation of Our Faith
This is the foundational truth of Christianity upon which Paul makes his argument in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14: "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." Paul asserts that this foundation is what all of Christianity is built upon.
Paul continues to say if Christ wasn't raised from the dead, he is a liar, and more than that, "If God did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15:15-19).
Paul's Brutal Honesty
In other words, we would be truly pitiful people to continue living in dedication and worship of a Jesus who deceived us. I appreciate Paul's candor - his brutal honesty in evaluating his faith and its implications. He concedes to his critics that if Christ didn't rise from the dead, then Paul is either insane or deeply deluded. The reason Paul was completely sold out for Christ above all else is that he truly believed in the resurrection. Therefore, all he taught and lived came from Christ; indeed, Christ was God. I'm not certain he had everything theologically sorted out as some claim today, but he clearly lived and died convinced of this truth. For him, it was undeniable. Everything else in life was secondary.
Transformation from Within
This foundational truth brought courage, strength, stamina, wisdom and love into his life. This fact transformed him from the inside out. Nothing else was worth living for in light of this truth.
Our moral choices bring health to our lives and others' in the long term, yet it's our love for others that will draw them to Christ. And this love only makes sense if Jesus truly rose from the dead. If God has the power to raise Jesus, He can certainly empower us to love everyone and live distinctively from those who don't know this power or this God.
Living in Light of This Truth
Do I really believe Jesus died and rose from the grave? If not, I too am to be pitied. If he didn't, I've given fifty years to a lie. But if he did, may I live today illuminated by this radical truth. May I love others through His power. May I demonstrate His power throughout my life. May everything I am reflect this faith, hope and love.
