Party Time!
We come today to the fifth and final answer to the question - What if Easter never was? That is, what if there was no resurrection? What if Jesus was never raised from the dead?
The apostle Paul answers this question in the fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians. That Paul even had to tackle such an issue seems ludicrous to us today, but the fact is that for Greeks and most of the ancient world, the idea of someone coming forth from the grave was unheard of. And there were evidently some in the church at Corinth who took exception to Paul’s teaching about the resurrection of Christ.
So, Paul writes to the believers in the church at Corinth and shares with them what it means for us as Christians if our Lord had remained in the grave. Our faith is futile or meaningless, he says. Those who proclaim the gospel message are false witnesses or liars, to be blunt. The dead are dead and gone forever. And Christians should be pitied for committing their lives to such a nonsensical religion and the lifestyle it demands from its followers.
Today, we are looking at the fifth and final fact to be reckoned with if, as followers of Jesus, our Lord was never raised from the dead. In I Corinthians 15:32, the apostle says, “If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”
If Easter never was, let’s party!!
Paul’s right. As we read about Solomon’s struggles with faith in the book of Ecclesiastes, we find the famous king stating this very truth several times throughout his musings. Consider the words of Ecclesiastes 2:24 - “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.”
I get it. I can identify. Likely, you can as well.
Most, if not all of us, enjoy eating, drinking, and merry-making. And we live in a world that encourages us to give ourselves over completely to this lifestyle. “You only go around once in life, so grab all the gusto while you can.” That was the slogan in a famous beer commercial that aired on television when I was growing up.
The ancient Egyptians had an unusual ritual that was often used at the conclusion of banquets and parties. A servant would carry a miniature replica of a coffin in which was placed the wooden carving of a corpse. As the servant made his rounds, he would display the coffin containing its carved corpse, saying, “Gaze here, and drink and be merry, for when you die, such will you be.”
But Christianity, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, calls us to a more disciplined lifestyle, and one which ultimately results in meaning and purpose in this life and rewards to come in the next.
I make my way to the nearby gym every afternoon about 1 o’clock. I do it not because I enjoy stretching on the mats, lifting weights, and running in place on a treadmill leading to nowhere. I do it because I know there are some definite rewards to those who commit to exercise. And there are plenty of afternoons I DO NOT want to go. But I go anyway. I go because I am convinced that a regimen of exercise, as difficult as it sometimes may be, is an important part of a healthy life.
To borrow a phrase Jesus often used in his teaching - how much more then is a life lived committed to God’s kingdom, which was established through the raising of Jesus from the dead?
The answer? Infinitely, eternally.
I read many years ago about a Soviet citizen who was arrested and severely persecuted for her faith as a Christian. She was the subject of horrendous, mind-altering experiments that left her physically and mentally crippled. After her death, a part of her diary was released. In it were these words - “I love the blue sky and green grass. I love meals with my family and friends. I love my country and my people. But more than anything, I love my Lord Jesus, who I will never deny. It is worth it to believe!”
Indeed it is. Whatever the circumstances. Whatever the price. Come what may; it’s worth it to believe!
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
In Christ,
Dan