The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 23:6b, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” While this ploy of Paul was an amazing tactical move on his part, I am quite convinced, nevertheless, that Paul’s perspective of the value of his faith in Jesus Christ, his "hope", lay not nearly as much in this life but in the opportunity it provided for him to spend an eternity with the Lord - his participation in "the resurrection of the dead." For some suspicious reasons, the appeal made in many quarters of the church today for folks to turn to Jesus Christ is that, in him, our present life in this age can be so much more meaningful and that the Lord has many blessings for us today. While this is certainly true, it is emphasized so strongly at times that there seems little said about what is ours in the resurrection. We have to look no further than the notion promoted in the name of Jesus Christ that because God loves us he wants to make all believers wealthy and healthy in this life today. Absent is the teaching about believers from Paul in Romans 8:10, 23-25, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness… we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” It is in the resurrection that we find the fulfillment of the promises God has made to us through Abraham. This is the “hope” that Paul claimed he was on trial for. The only interest he had in this life was to be as productive as he could on the Lord's behalf while he was still here. However, he noted that it was “better by far” to leave this life to go be with the Lord, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Philippians 1:21-24. I suspect my relationship with the Lord will become all that it should be and develop a much needed perspective if I conform my own views with what were Paul’s. My life should be driven by the “hope in the resurrection of the dead.” It is this very hope from which faith and love spring from, Colossians 1:5 and brings the motivation to “purify” myself, 1 John 3:3. How wonderful is the hope we have in the resurrection that the Lord has promised us! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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