I remember my first office. No longer living in a cubicle, the trappings of the office were nice. It would have been easy to let it go to my head. The office didn’t exist as a reward but as a tool to do my job more effectively. The most important part was the job. The office was secondary to that.
In Christianity, it is easy to become enamored with the trappings that go along with it. We have a family in every town and nation. We have social connections stronger than can be built in a local club. We have opportunities to help those in need of charity. We make life-long impacts on others through mentoring. But we must never let those benefits crowd out the gravity of the most important thing: God raised Jesus from the dead. In Acts 13, Paul’s sermon in Antioch of Pisidia is recorded. The two shortest verses of that sermon are verses 30 and 37. When the Bible text was split into verses, why were these made so short? Their brevity highlights the most central principle of Christianity. Christ died and was raised again.
Why is the resurrection so important? It means Christ was able to take upon Himself the entire punishment for our sin. It means that one day after we die, we too can be raised up. It means that the eternal plan of God has come, and will come, to fruition.
The benefits of Christianity are great, but the Benefit Giver is greater. Come see for yourself!
Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash
