1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed to be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
You can see them every day and everywhere they go. These followers of Jesus, they bring the echo of Easter with them in grocery stores, at bus stops, in coffee shops, at community meetings, in hotel lobbies, at the gym, and even from a deathbed. Jaroslav Pelikan was not only a world-class historian, but he was a master of the turn of phrase. It was while he lay dying from lung cancer that he once uttered one of the cleverest and simplest truths from his deathbed. Pelikan proclaimed, "If Christ is raised, then nothing else matters. If Christ is not raised, then nothing else matters." In other words, if the resurrection actually happened, then our dying, declining, decaying bodies will be transformed, beautifully glorified, and this suffering will not matter.
But if the resurrection is not true, then as St. Paul says, nothing really matters. But since we believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, and since this happened, then it follows that we've got a reason to rejoice, a true creed to confess, a trumpet to play, a liturgy to pray, a drum to beat, a dance to offer, and a song that must be sung. While we have life and breath, Christ is risen. He has risen indeed! Alleluia!
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for the gift of life, the gift of the resurrection, which invests our life with meaning and with praise. Continue to echo through all our days that our life may raise with praise to Your Holy Name, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. John Nunes.
Reflection Questions:
1. When was the last time you saw someone publicly witnessing to their Christian faith?
2. How does Christ's resurrection give us a "living hope"?
3. Have you ever had a conversation about Jesus in an unexpected place? Where were you?
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 28-29 1 Corinthians 15:29-58
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