Resurrection or Bust! – 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
April 17, 2022Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
The Great Plains of the U.S. were struck with two great disasters in the 1930’s. The Great Depression and severe drought. Many farmers were left with nothing but dust. Not soil, just dust. They were starving; no way to make a living. To stay was utter futility. Work the ground would end with ruin. Many of them packed all their possessions onto old trucks and headed west for California, some made signs saying, “California or bust!” In other words, their life was subject to so much futility they would rather risk everything to gain a better future.
It is this same attitude that the Christian walks away from the empty tomb with: Resurrection or Bust! The tomb itself represents the futility of life as we know it because everything ends up there. Paul tells us “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain. If Christ has not been raised, and therefore only in this life do we have hope in Christ, then we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:17, 19). Why? Because there is a cost to following Christ in a resurrection life.
Christians are most to be pitied if Christ has not been raised because they have bet everything on it; they have set out on a journey carrying a sign that reads, “Resurrection of Bust!” Of course, everyone else is to be pitied too, but at least they had fun while the party lasted.