1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42 - 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. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ... But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.

There is a problem in my house every spring when we get out the seeds for the garden. We grow a lot of Vietnamese plants, and somehow, every year, we lose the labels. And so we stare at a handful of seeds and wonder: Which ones are the green pumpkins? Which are the bitter melons? How about the pennywort or the lotus?

We can't predict the plant from the way the seed looks. A bright green lotus plant looks nothing like the dark nutty seed we throw into the pond. The seed for the pumpkins and the seed for the baseball bat-shaped gourds look exactly the same. And a tiny seed can produce a huge plant. About the only thing we can do is to plant them and find out!

And it's like that for human beings, too, isn't it? We know that when Christ comes back, He will raise us from the dead with resurrection bodies like His own; and we know that we will reflect His glory. But how exactly we will look, or what life will be like for us in God's kingdom—well, again it's a case of "plant them and find out." Jesus knows; He loves us, and He had that far-off vision of final glory in mind when He gave Himself into death for our sake. He died and rose to bring us to that life; and He has assured us that it will be wonderful. We will be with Him forever—and as for the rest—well, we'll have to wait and see.

WE PRAY: Dear Savior, we know that, when You plant us, You will also raise us, and we will be with You. That's enough for now. Help us to trust in You through this whole process. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Did you ever plant a mystery seed?

2. If so, what did it turn out to be?

3. What do you wonder most about your future life in God's kingdom?

Today's Bible Readings: Exodus 29-30    Mark 2

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