Category: 1 Corinthians

 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed  (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

I don’t know when.

I can’t fathom how.

But the moment will come.

Whether we’re sleeping or working or long in the grave, our Lord will decide that the time is right, and it will happen. 

We will be changed.

What do you imagine, Beloved? 

A butterfly emerging from the cocoon? 

A kernel of corn popping?

The acorn becoming an oak–only at lightning speed?

Will it be like a superhero in a movie–minus the toxic waste and radiation?

Yes, and

no, and

more. 

So much more

Odds are, it won’t happen today–but it will happen.

And who knows? Maybe…

Not a bad thought for ending the week, ya?

Happy Friday, Beloved

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable  (1 Corinthians 15:50).

It’s not a question of rules, but of nature.

Flesh and spirit are fundamentally different.

Jesus took on flesh so that he could be with us.

We will take on spirit so that we can be with him.

It’s that simple.

And that glorious

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.  And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man(1 Corinthians 15:47-49).

I yearn to bear the image of the heavenly man.

I can’t tell you exactly what it will look like or feel like, but I know it’s what I want.

It’s what I am made to be.

But I’ve got to say, I identify way too much with the man of the earth.

I feel the dust of the earth blowing in and through me.

God made this body, so I know it is good, but it is broken like this world is broken.

It is weak like this world is weak.

It falls to sin like this world falls to sin.

On mornings like this, I feel like a man who can smell the banquet being prepared

but is waiting in the next room with a stale bologna sandwich and a can of warm, flat soda.

I know the dinner bell will ring, and I will be called to the feast.

But for now…

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual  (1 Corinthians 15:46).

Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (vs 21,22).

Remember those verses? We looked at them a couple of weeks ago.

They’re still true.

Adam was flesh, and as glorious as it is, it turns out that flesh is weak.

Praise God, his plan for humanity did not end with the flesh! 

Praise God, through Jesus we will one day trade this flesh for spirit!

Praise God!

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being;” the second Adam, a life-giving spirit  (1 Corinthians 15:44-45).

God made Adam from the dust of the earth. 

God breathed life into Adam, and through Adam we have muscle and bone and pleasure and pain and life…and death.

God made Jesus–

Ah, but God didn’t make Jesus, did he?

Jesus, the Eternal Son, laid aside his glory, took upon himself muscle and bone and pleasure and pain and physical life…and death. 

Then laid that down…for a moment.

When he arose, our Lord united the flesh that was so very mortal with the immortality of his spirit,

and he gave this gift

to us.

I don’t know how, but I know why.

And so do you, Beloved.

Happy Monday

So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

It will happen, Beloved.

Someday

Somehow

Something will happen that we cannot currently fathom

and we will be what we were always meant to be.

Today you may feel like the seed that you are–small and dry and shriveled, covered in dirt and fertilizer, getting drenched and baked in turn, knowing that you are destined for death.

But you are not destined for death.

You are destined for life.

You will rise, by the hand of the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

He has promised, and it will be so.

Happy Friday, Beloved

All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another, and star differs from star in splendor (1 Corinthians 15:39-41).

Once upon a time I was shopping in a big box store when I saw packages of wildflower seeds for sale.  As it happens, I have an area in my backyard–90%ish–that is somewhat unkempt. I try occasionally to kemp it, but to no avail. Seeing this package, I imagined my barren wasteland transformed into a wildflower oasis, complete with singing songbirds and fluttering butterflies. I bought the seed, took it home, and began to scatter it liberally, as the directions directed. Looking at the seeds in my hand, I was decidedly underwhelmed. These were dry, shriveled, crusty little things that looked more like store-brand granola than the embryos of a wildflower oasis. I sowed them anyway, hit the area with the hose for a bit, and promptly forgot about them.

Until…

A few weeks later…

I had wildflowers.

Beautiful wildflowers

They varied widely in color and form, and they looked absolutely nothing like granola.

So much splendor, so much beauty, so much life from what had appeared to be dead. I couldn’t tell you what seeds had turned into what flowers, because they looked nothing alike. 

Beloved, these seeds we inhabit may be looking dry and withered and like store-brand granola, but…

Yeah, but.

Happy Thursday.

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body(1 Corinthians 15:37-38).

God knows.

We don’t.

We’ve played this tune before.

Beloved, why is it so hard for us–and by us, I mean me–to trust that God knows what he is doing, even when we can’t see it? Our brains–and by our, I mean our–are too small to understand how plants work, if we’re going to be really honest.

It’s simple, Michael. You plant the seed, and it pops open and the new plant emerges.

Uh huh…how?

Well, the cotyledon germinates and bursts from the spangyopan and produces myglocytes, and…

See, now you’re just making stuff up.

Beloved, if we can’t explain plants, how could we hope to understand how the seed we currently inhabit will be replaced with a new, resurrection body–much less what it will look like.

Oh, and I apologize to any agricultural biologists reading this–I’m sure the illustration was painful.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies  (1 Corinthians 15:36).

OK, I know I’m always talking about keeping things in context, but how can I not stop at this line?

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

Paul is going to give us plenty of examples of what he’s talking about over the next few verses. In fact, we’ll be digging through this concept for the rest of the week–at least. But for the moment, will you join me in an experiment? Let’s just meditate on this verse for the day. Let it roll around in your head and hit all your mental taste buds. Ask God to show you what this verse means in the context of the passage and, perhaps, in the context of your life.

Is there something in your 

life

work

walk

heart

that God wants to bury in order to raise it? Are you willing to find out?

Be willing to find out.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” –How foolish! (1 Corinthians 15:35-36)

Yikes, Paul.

Pretty harsh reaction to what seem like reasonable questions.

But, of course, context is key. 

Paul has been talking to and about people who question the resurrection, who aren’t sure it even took place. In the previous verses, Paul called these people sinners. So we can figure that the questions they’re asking are not serious, but sarcastic. They aren’t believers trying to wrap their heads around a God concept. They are mockers trying to trap Paul into explaining the nitty gritty, which of course he couldn’t, because…God.

Beloved, I don’t know how the protons and electrons and photons and ganglions cruise down the wiring in my house and line up in the lightbulb waiting for me to flip the switch so they can do their thing. I only know that when I flip the switch…

Light.

Every time–presuming nothing is broken and I’ve paid the bill.

And electricity has to be a lot simpler than raising the dead.

It’s OK to question God, Beloved–provided that you are seeking to know him better so you can love him more. But questioning God’s plan with an eye toward proving him wrong? 

You’ll excuse me if I stand way over there while you do that.

Happy Monday, Beloved