On Fire

Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."

Do you ever get tired of the mundane in Christianity? It seems that it has been cultural zed and tamed by American sensibilities (keep it to yourselfism). The truthfulness of a religious proposition is hardly taken seriously, and usually relegated to the same realm as "my favorite food is pizza or "I like dogs but not cats".

I was thinking about the resurrection and the proposition of some scholars concerning the nature of Christ resurrection. There are scholars who say that the resurrection was not a physical manifestation of divine power, but a faith experience that was spiritually perceived by the early church. It becomes more and more evident to me that biblical scholarship is more concerned with its own philosophical biases than with biblical reality. If you want to sap the fire out of Christianity, the first place to start is the resurrection. Why you might ask? Because it is the vindication of Jesus message, of the rule and authority of God on earth, and its proclamation of absolute truth. If Jesus bodily rose from the dead, this validates his message of the accountability of all to God's law, and our need for Jesus as the savior of our souls.

Christ is not another opaque mystery religion, but the representation and the exact nature of the one true and living God. The veil is not across his face as it was with Moses, but his face shines the brilliant truth of God's wisdom and power. We are not cosmic orphans; we are created in the image of God and were considered worthy of his love. Christ died for us. Love came into history and flesh, suffered and died for lost people. The cross is God's symbol of sacrificial love to the world. We are not alone; we are not alone in our suffering and pain. God identifies with human suffering on the cross, but we will identify with him in his bodily resurrection.

That which we have lost or will lose to death, will be given back a thousand fold by the power of the only begotten. He was raised so we will be raised. This is what sets us on fire. This is the life and breathe of the true religion, and the sure hope to all who will believe. Stop sitting by the fire, admiring its light and heat. We should be consumed with the awesome promise of a real hope to eternal life. We will die, but we will live in this body again. We have found God in hope in Jesus Christ, but one day we will no longer live in hope, but in the reality and completion of God's kingdom.

TOTT