QT 4/28/2025 1 Cor 15:41-49, Recognizing we have purpose and meaning

1 Corinthians 15:41–49 (ESV) —

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

 

NOTE: It is interesting how creation is related to resurrection. We don't evolve to a spiritual body, but we are transformed into a spiritual creature. We are of dust, but after the resurrection we will made of heaven. We will bear the image of Jesus Christ, the man of heaven, and no longer carry the body of sinful man. Jesus' resurrection is the hope of a new creation, different and greater than the first creation. It also seems we will differ, like the stars differ. We will be unique. I believe we will be recognizable.

 

Today, we live in a world that was not as God intended. We rebelled and basically agreed with Satan to be our own gods, deciding good and evil. We bear the consequences of that choice today. So many people are hopeless or dependent upon drugs. They have no hope or future because they believe they are the result of random processes (despite the numerical improbabilities). But God has created us, maybe he used directed evolution, which certainly solves many probability problems, or he created us out of nothing. It does not matter because God created us in his image. We have value, and he has a purpose for our life, and a glorious future for those who accept the gift of salvation by believing on his son. There is purpose to life.

 

PONDER:

1. What is our purpose?
2. What are we doing to find that purpose or to accomplish that purpose?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for life and purpose. I know my purpose. Life is still hard but I can rest in my role that you have given. Help me to remain sensitive to your Spirit's leading. I struggle at times with my role in the present. It seems like such a small thing, but if it comes from you, it is a big thing. Help me to be joyful and accepting of the days.