And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die." 1Corinthians15:30-32
Commentators are not entirely sure what Paul meant when he spoke about "wild beasts in Ephesus." Did he mean that they were thrown in the arena, were they threatened with the arena, or was it that the enemies they faced were as vicious as wild animals?
Whichever it was, Paul is adamant that it is the hope of Resurrection that enables us to be courageous and self-sacrificing. The sure hope of the resurrection enables us to hold this life less tightly. It helps us endure hardship and to face frightening circumstances.
The hope of Resurrection puts this life in perspective: This life is preparation, the place where we develop character and where we learn to love God and Others more than ourselves and this life.
Without the resurrection it all seems futile. Why bother? Why not then "eat and drink for tomorrow we die"?
It is sad to observe that this generation of Christians is the most self-absorbed, world-conforming and non-wave-making generation of Christians yet. It is also interesting that this generation of Christians has a very high percentage of people, even highly qualified theologians, who question the resurrection.
Do you think there is a correlation?
Paul does.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
