"if"

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…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."

1 Corinthians 15:17-19

The weight of this verse struck hard the core of my soul 6 or so years ago in a town on the edge of nowhere in Thailand. It is not that I had doubts about the resurrection of Christ, although the claims of men constantly say otherwise. No, I had wrestled with those questions years earlier and found the evidence for the truths of Scripture overwhelming. What busted in on me was the "most to be pitied" part. Was I living my life in such a way that if there was not a resurrection, which there was, that my life would be looked at as wasted and therefore to be pitied by all?

In other words, am I fully living like I believe in my risen Lord and Savior? Is the evidence of Christ's resurrection power in my life very convincing? Or am I living an apathetic, me-centered, status quo life that would make the world feel like I lived like I should if there was not a resurrection? Which again for clarity, Jesus did indeed raise up from death on the third day. I realized that my daily choices really did matter when it came to living out the faith that I claim.

Jesus did raise from the dead.

Am I fully living like I am alive or like the dead?

Would my life be pitied? Would yours?

Have a great Easter, worship Jesus!