1 Corinthians 15:17-19 - And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
When St. Paul calls Jesus' resurrection the first fruits of those who have risen from the dead, He's not only reminding people that God has a stake in the game; he's reminding them of God's faithfulness in all things. First fruits talk is harvest talk. It is about God's faithfulness to provide all that we need in our relationship with Him.
Israel would give the first tenth of the fruits of the field back to the Lord. Why? Because they were acknowledging His faithfulness in bringing forth not only the first sheaves of the harvested grain, but of all the rest to follow. They were celebrating God's enduring faithfulness-first acknowledging Him as the One who had always and would always fulfill His promises when He has a stake in the game.
But we have a problem, don't we?
Even with such good news, we strive for what I call hopeless hope. Most are looking everywhere else but the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus, looking for life's meaning, and purpose, and power! Many people today, if they believe in anything resembling "resurrection," they believe it's a power that they possess, a work that they can do. If not, they don't believe it at all.
Hopeless hope. We get our hopes up. We make our grand plans. We follow our clever schemes. But our schemes come to nothing; our knowledge always seems incomplete just when we need it most. Our hopes are eventually dashed.
Our modern temptation, though, is to continue to believe that the next technology will save us.
In a world that is moving fast on an unstable course, we need something solid upon which to hang our hopes. We need to repent of our reliance on hopeless hope, and we need to see what God has put in its place; a life-giving hope in Christ alone!
God the Father doesn't just offer eternal life. He embodies it for you in the resurrection of His Son. His resurrection guarantee is not just for tomorrow-it's for living today. His resurrection is your destiny; His blessing is your promise. Easter faith repents of hopeless hope and receives joyfully what the Lord has for you!
Today you and I are invited to leave behind the confining walls of hopeless hope. We are invited to a life of faith, to repent of our trust in humanity's bravado, and to trust in Christ's resurrection hope. We are invited to surrender our lives to the One who lived, and died, and rose again for each of us.
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, keep an Easter faith vibrant in our hearts. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion is based on the sermon, "Jesus' Resurrection: God's Public Guarantee for Lasting Hope," by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. What do you think of when you hear the term "first fruits"?
2. What are some of the hopeless hopes that captivate people these days?
3. Why is the resurrection from the dead such a hard thing for people to believe?
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 119:89-176 2 Thessalonians 1
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