03/31/2024 - He Is Risen - The Last Enemy To Be Defeated

“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” From 1 Corinthians 15:12-26 Easter! Resurrection Sunday. Bright colors, pastels, Sunday dinners, and celebrations. Bunnies and baskets. Springtime and life. These might come to our mind: good things, fun things, things of this world. And then we walk into church. We hear about a man who died a gruesome, horrible death on a cross, was laid in a tomb which was not his own for days – and on the third day an angelic messenger tells his friends who are looking for his body: “He is not here! He is risen!” (Matthew 28:6). He rose – and the Christian faith makes a remarkable claim. He did not rise in our hearts. He didn’t represent an idea that lives on in his followers. As John Updike wrote: “Make no mistake: if he rose at all / It was as His body.” But, we might well ask: even if we were to believe such an extraordinary thing happened, what does it mean for our lives? [Continue reading at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog]