Daily Devotions

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  2 Corinthians 5:16-20

This past Sunday in worship we heard the story of the Sadducees questioning Jesus about the resurrection.  If a woman had seven husbands who all died, whose wife will she be in the resurrection of the dead?

As I wrestled with that text again throughout the week I was reminded again of how much we miss if we only understand “resurrection” to mean “whatever it is that happens long after we die.”  As if anyone of us has a clue!

And even if we did, what difference would seeing so clearly into the mysteries of God do for us today? 

Here’s what I know.  I weigh too much.  I know it is because I eat too much of the wrong foods, and I don’t exercise as much as I ought to.  I also know that my weight will very definitely – if it hasn’t already – cause me health problems and will shorten my life.  I know that is true.  Indisputable fact.  No mystery whatsoever.  Will that knowledge help me lose some weight?  Will knowing my future inevitably cause me to change my daily habits and rituals for the better?

Well…it hasn’t so far.  But today is a new day.  I have my gym stuff with me.  No one else will put food in my mouth today.  I have all the knowledge I need – what I don’t have is the power to do what is best.  For that, at least for me, I need God.

And I don’t just need God, I need to call upon God, rely upon God, and act as I sense God is leading me.  I don’t need information, and I don’t need reassurance that God still loves me – I know that – what I need is resurrection.  I need the willingness to let God do in and through me what only God can do.  Not by magic but by action.

So it is with all that matters in life.  Information is helpful but we need so much more.  God is in charge of whatever it is that happens after we die.  I trust that it will be good because I trust in God’s saving love.  But that is far beyond my control, it is veiled in mystery.  What is not veiled in mystery is the reality that God has given us the gift of this day, to do with it what we will.

We can choose today how we will live.  Will we live in denial of reality, hoping for magic, ignoring our own needs or the needs of the world around us?  Or will we see ourselves as we truly are – children of God, new creations in Christ, raised again today to new possibilities of life with the God-given power of resurrection reality?

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, today is a gift.  Today is all the life we have to live.  Give us the power to do what you would have us do, and the willingness to follow as you lead the way, for in you we are a new creation, resurrection is our hope, and your doing.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen. 

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