For Faith and Fact

For Tuesday, August 23

For Faith and Fact

Job 8-11:20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 21:28-29 (click to read)

(1Corinthians 15) 16 So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. 17 Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins

     (OK - re: Job - I think I see that one of the failings of Job's friends is they just had to supply an answer. They could not hold the tension between Job's sufferings and his innocence, so they told him to repent, ask for forgiveness and listen...even though Job was no way ready to do that. The mystery of a relationship with God in fullness escaped them at this point)
     I return so often to this one concept of the resurrection - how totally easy it would have been to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead. And His enemies would have done that in an instant, but they could not. So - resurrection it is. Now, I'm not philosophically sold on Paul's first point which I understand to be: "If there will be no resurrection at the end of this age, then Jesus was not raised." With the total uniqueness of Jesus, this just does not follow for me. Jesus could have been raised with no consequence to us. BUT - that is not God's plan. And since Jesus HAS been raised, my life, my choices, my message, my hope for others, my life goals - they all are NOT worthless. So I shall continue to live and grow into this faith and fact.

Lord - You are the Risen Lord, the Raised Jesus, the First Born of all Creation and all Resurrection. Praise to You and to our Father for this divine sign for fact, for faith, and for following You. I ask Your Help in doing so today.

(You can download the Pathway 2011 Bible reading list here.)