DAY 249

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

Psalm 146 & 147 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

The psalms today invite us to praise God. It might seem like there are so so many. Well we are almost at the end, but if you think about how many hymns have been written over the years, hymns of praise and lament, then I think you can understand. God inspires. 

He certainly has inspired Paul. Paul is not only continuing to press on with the church in Corinth, I think he has gotten to the crux of the matter—apparently some people are denying a resurrection of the dead! I don’t think they are denying Jesus rose from the dead, but rather saying we humans won’t. Here is where Paul jumps on the situation. Jesus was “fully human—fully divine.” We find the fullest image of humanity in Jesus. That “fullest image” is one of eternal resurrected life. This is our “sure and certain hope.”

To separate us from Jesus in this matter of the resurrection, is to separate Jesus from his humanness and us from our full humanity. I say it is the “crux” of the matter because if we are not raised from the dead—if Jesus has not defeated death—then what is the point of his coming to earth? Is it so the Corinthian church can party? Certainly not and in the end of the lesson today we see that Paul expounding how critical Jesus’ death and resurrection is to everything. If we were to place as stars in the sky all the things we have spoken and read about this year there would be a lot of stars…but the Resurrection really is the crux of all it.

When we fully take His resurrection into our hearts and minds and souls, then we, like the psalmist, will be full of praise.