stumblingtoholiness

This morning our pastor preached on 1Cor15:1-22. If we as Christians are duped in our belief in the Resurrection, what pitiable creatures we are. But knowing we are not, we can hold the greatest truth, the greatest comfort, the greatest hope in our hearts everyday, regardless of what goes on around us.

I read further in the passage when I came home from church:

But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 1Cor15:35-38NKJV

Have you ever seen a flower in full bloom with a tiny seed casing still on it? The traces of a creation that once held mere potential, all that remains to be seen of the original is a broken husk. The seed was placed in the dark earth. Even before it could see the sun, it felt it’s warmth through the soil. The water germinated it, and it began to transform. No longer a mere seed, it sprouted, and burst out of its case to stretch tiny leaves out to the open air and the light. Peeking out from the closed shelter of the earth, the leaves unfolded, more fragile than ever, exposed to wind and possible trampling. But the light and warmth of the sun nourished the leaves and it grew, extending roots down into the earth to drink deeply of the water and nutrients there too. As long as it was not cut off from this nourishment it grew and blossomed.

Let me tell you, most days I do not feel like a flower. Rather I feel like the hollow husk of the seed, broken and empty and not really recognizing who I am or what is happening to me. If you ever feel like this, my prayer for you, as it is for me, is that we would extend our roots deep. Let us drink the living water and be firm in our foundation of Christ, as the Son shines upon us, and the Word is a lamp unto our feet. The Lord is making us new in Him. Every good gardener knows that the best fruit comes from just the right combination of good soil, sun, water, and pruning.

If you feel the cut of the pruning shears, or are shaken by the blowing wind, if you are broken open and being made new as we who in Christ all are, I pray you would remember, Christ the Lord is risen today. We are resurrected in Him. And the body given to the seed is a flower of such heavenly beauty that this hard, mundane little seed cannot even imagine.

Blessings to you on this Resurrection Sunday.