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Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
Happy Tuesday, dear Friend! May this Tuesday be filled with tremendous blessings of joy and wonder for you and yours. Time spent with God is a powerful investment in faith.
Not everyone in your church believes as you do. There may be even some who do not believe in Jesus' resurrection. Shocked as you may be in hearing or believing that, it is true. One of the great sadness for a pastor is to discover years later that a child or youth from a church one has served publicly admits his or her unbelief. Such was the case in the Corinth Church. Paul shared the Gospel with them, and many accepted it and believed, but word got back to him that some did not believe in the actual, physical resurrection of Jesus. It is a hard thing to believe. It goes beyond natural or scientific explanation; but it is the basis of the Gospel, the good news of God's action in our lives; that God destroyed sin and death in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, thus we have this morning's epistle reading. Paul states again, "This what I proclaim has come to me through those who were there; eyewitnesses to His rising from the dead! Christ died for your sins as was expected and explained in scripture, then after three days, He rose from the dead!" Then Paul lists the eyewitnesses who witnessed the Risen Christ; Cephas (aka Peter), to the twelve, then to more than 500 witnesses, then to James, then to all the apostles, then, late in time as he believed himself to be, Paul himself. (Reread the story in Acts 9). Paul knows his work to be one of an apostle, a disciple who comes to fully understand then goes and lives out his life, doing what he learned as a disciple. And God's work, Paul says, has not been in vain. I have worked hard, maybe even harder than all the others, but he adds, only because the grace of God is with me. We continue to share that gospel and through that you came to believe.
What does this mean to you? First, it should reaffirm that you do indeed believe in Jesus as One who rose from the dead. That makes you a believer and disciple. Secondly, because you believe and have been blessed by what Jesus has done and is doing in your life, you live out the good news, for you are now an apostle. Your life should give witness to a deep faith in Christ Jesus. Everything about you should yell out life! God is a God of Life, one in fullness and abundance here, and One who believes that life never ends and so our reward awaits us in Heaven. Share that whenever possible, share it with conviction and compassion, loving and understanding that God is leading you to make a difference. And leave it to God to finish the work.
PRAYER: Loving God, come into my heart afresh today. Let me be the disciple, then apostle You want and need me to be. Guide my thoughts, words, and actions to speak wonderful words of life. Grant in me, through You, the hope and love that the world needs to hear. All this I ask in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Hug someone today with a life-giving hug.
Eradio Valverde
