Resurrection of the Body

  I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth
    And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord
    Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary
  Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell
    The third day he rose again from the dead
    He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty
    From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead
    I believe in the Holy Ghost
    I believe a holy catholic church; the communion of saints
    The forgiveness of sins
    The resurrection of the body

Apostles Creed


Pain sucks. Sickness sucks. For some of us pain or physical weakness isn’t something we have suffered much from. For others, it’s a day-to-day and even hour-to-hour reality. The modern world has made incredible leaps in terms of pain management, curing of sickness and yet over 10% of Australians live with chronic pain.

Clinical anxiety sucks. Depression sucks. Other forms of debilitating mental illness suck. 20% of Australians suffer from some sort of mental health issue. Is that you?

Disability sucks. I know this is a bit tricky. The trend at the moment is to normalise disability and value the person (this is a good thing). At the same time. I think we should still be able to say that disability sucks and I rekon you ask most people with a disability whether they wish they didn’t… yeah, you get it.

Where am I going with this? Maybe you know.

The great promise of eternal life with Jesus is that we will be resurrected from the dead. Not to some incorporeal, purely spiritual state. But to a new body. An imperishable body.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52,

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

What an incredible hope this is. Not just for the sick. Not just for the mentally ill. Not just for the disabled. But for everyone who is dying (all of us). We have all watched people age and die and one day we will too.

But if we trust in Jesus. We will be raised. And we will inherit and inhabit a new body that will never feel pain, never suffer mentally or physically, never age and never die. Who knows, we might even be able to fly.

For Today:
  • How is your body suffering right now?
  • Who is someone else who is suffering physically or mentally?
  • What are you most looking forward to in the new creation body?
 
Pray: Praise the Father that He is eternal and has power over life and death. Give thanks for Jesus Christ who shares His prize with us. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others hope in the resurrection of the body.
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