The Wake-up Call
Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52
There was a strange teaching at the church of Corinth. Some members said the resurrection had already taken place. Apparently they thought a bodily resurrection at the end of time wasn't important. If we are raised spiritually today, they thought, what else matters? Paul disagreed. Resurrection life is bodily life. God's trumpet blast at the end of time will be enough to wake the dead. Graves will open. God's people--soul and body--will rise to meet their Lord. Our bodies are important to God. That's good news, because our bodies are important to us. If we are committed to living for Christ, we treat our bodies with respect. We visit doctors when we are ill. We exercise regularly. Anyone who thinks our bodies are unimportant should visit someone who has a debilitating disease and see how that person has to struggle each day. Our bodies matter. That's why we don't minimize the sorrow that comes with death. Well-meaning people sometimes tell grieving relatives that what's in the casket is "just a shell." But we know better. One day our loved one's soul will be reunited with that body and rise from the grave. Christ's resurrection reunites what God never meant to be separated. At the trumpet blast, all who are in Christ will be made whole--body and soul--for eternity.
Lord, we await the day when open graves will display the power of Christ's resurrection. As our earthly bodies weaken, may we grow in anticipation of that day. Amen.
About the author — Bob Heerspink
Dr. Robert Heerspink was director of Back to God Ministries International from 2006 until 2011, when he passed away. He had previously pastored several Christian Reformed churches. Bob loved to write and was a frequent contributor to the Today devotional.
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