But now Christ is risen from the dead

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. – 1 Corinthians 15v19-20

Last week was a bit of a tough week. We had a lot of battles on a lot of fronts. The oppression and opposition was very real and very dark. Sometimes we ask ourselves why we go through all of this. Is it really worth is all?

That’s a good contingent on one thing – “Did Jesus rise from the dead?” If he did not, then our preaching is vain, our faith is futile, we are still in our sins, all the Christians who have died have totally perished, and we have a pitiable life. We might as well eat, drink, and be merry for this miserable life is as good as it is going to get.

Can you imagine a life with no hope? Can you imagine knowing that this is as good as it gets? If that was the case, rather than putting up with weeks like last week we might as well just chunk it all and party till the end to try and cover up the pain of a life with no hope.

But our life is not pitiable and it is not miserable. We do have hope, we do have assurance, and we do have a life to look forward to. Why? Because Christ is risen from the dead! All things are under His feet. After all the final enemy, death, has been defeated.

How do we get through those tough times? We remember that Christ is risen indeed! He has already won. We may see setbacks, we may lose a few battles, but Christ is risen from the dead and the ultimate victory is assured!