In St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians,
chapter 15, he discussed the heart of the Christian faith: belief in the
Resurrection. Here are some thoughts on that passage, written over 20 years ago,
in the final chapter of a little book by a naïve young pup.
There
are a lot of earthly benefits to being a Christian….But if there is no hope for
eternal life, if the secular humanists are correct that life is a random,
meaningless accident which ends tragically at the moment of death, then we
might as well crack open a bottle of tequila and max out the VISA and MasterCard
right now.
The
hope and faith in eternal life is the key difference between Christians and
secular humanists….This assurance, this hope, this confidence in eternal life
makes all the difference. It is what allows us to live as “James Bond
Christians.”
Well,
OK, I’d better explain that one:
When
I was a kid, I just loved those James Bond movies….The greatest thing about the
character, Agent 007, was that no matter how perilous the situation became, he
was always as cool as a cucumber. It was as if he KNEW no harm could ever come
to him.
I
can remember thinking that it would be so great to KNOW that my life was part
of a grand script…and that no matter how awful a situation might be, everything
would ultimately turn out fine. Then I could relax and not be scared and maybe
be almost as cool as James Bond.
Well,
despite being a weird analogy, this is what the Christian faith allows us to
do. God has assured us that we are part of his grand plan in which we shall be
victorious. When an eternal perspective is added to our natural life-span, we
are able to realize that no matter what happens here and now, our ultimate fate
is victory and glory.
With
a faith and a hope such as this, we can handle whatever comes our way just like
“James Bond Christians.” We simply know that God has prepared in advance a
marvelous place for us for all eternity.
In
conclusion…when it comes time for my funeral, I don’t want any weeping or
hand-wringing, understand? Save the tears and flowers for some other occasion
and have a graduation party instead.
Oh, wasn’t he so cute, with his
cock-sure optimism, split infinitives, and misuse of the words “which” and
“that”? Don’t you just want to give that mid-1990s guy a big hug?
But overall, he made a reasonably good
point. Our faith in the Resurrection allows us to have confidence in eternal
life. And it allows us even to laugh in the face of death, as St. Paul did:
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1
Corinthians 15:55).
God never promised our journey here on
earth would be easy—something the pup began to learn in recent years. However,
despite our trials and tribulations, we still can be joyful and confident
because our God is more powerful than death.
The Resurrection and eternal life make
all the difference. The truth of the Resurrection and the promise of eternal
life allow us to be shaken, but not stirred. (Sorry, I had to say that.) We
face many difficulties, but when if we put our faith in Jesus and cling to His
promises, we will never be defeated.
(By the way, if anyone is interested in
a copy of the little book, titled, “Boomer Trek: One Baby Boomer’s Surprising
Journey from Secular Humanism to Faith in God”—complete with a comical photo on
the back cover of the dark-haired pup—just send me an email with your address
and I’ll mail you a copy of my first book.)
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