S54P1 – Linchpins of the faith: Jesus resurrected

linchpin: /n/

1. a person or entity essential to an enterprise 

2. a pin that keeps a wheel in position 

1 Cor. 15:12-16

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

It seemed like a no-brainer for him to end up in sales.  He had been charismatic and convincing with people in other areas of his life, and he expected that to just flow into his work as well.  From the first training session, the representatives were told that the only good sellers would be those who truly believed in the product.  This would prove to be difficult as the company’s claims seemed so impossible.  Of all the candidates who made it to the sales room floor, he was the only one who still had his doubts.  It did not take long for this to show in his work.  Without having faith in the product and its benefits, he never used it and had no experience to speak of.  When this became obvious to management as a result of his lackluster sales, he was sadly sent packing.

We are God’s sales force.  We are the representatives of his brand who have been called to tell of the splendor and power of this faith.  When we speak to people about our Savior and his impact on our lives, we are not merely telling stories.  Faith in Jesus Christ is not about believing in something just to feel good and get through this life.  Scripture is not a series of fables from which we simply gain subjective moral insight.  The life of Jesus written in God’s word is not fiction.  Much of what we learn seems like fantastic impossibility, but we are called to believe in the fantastically impossible. Not only that, we are called to live in a manner in which we walk out those impossibilities.  It is our experience with God that makes us convincing representatives of his.  It is much less the speaking of our faith and much more the living of our faith that will draw others to him.

We cannot pick and choose what we are comfortable believing.  The foundation of our salvation is the resurrection of our Savior.  Without faith in this, we cannot please God.  It is one of many miracles that we must accept as objective truth because we cannot be reconciled to the Father without this.  This natural impossibility is completely normal in God’s kingdom, and it must be normal for us.  In fact, we expectantly wait for our resurrection one day.  If Christ has not risen, then we will not one day rise.  If we reject this truth, then the Father will reject us.  It is the beginning of our confession that we believe in the word of God no matter how impossible it may seem.  Father, give us your knowledge and your vision so that we may have full faith in that which seems impossible.