The Gift of the Resurrection

About a year and a half ago, I was given five orchid seeds. They were brown and dry and each about the size of a nickel. I soaked the seeds, planted them in soil, and then transferred the saplings outside. I watched as a small plant began to grow, and then, this year, I discovered delicate purple blossoms growing on the small orchid tree. Those flowers looked nothing like the dry brown seed I planted!

In this chapter of Corinthians, the apostle Paul speaks of how we, too, will be transformed. When we die, our bodies are sown like seeds; but as believers, we will be raised again and receive new bodies. All of this is made possible by Jesus Christ and patterned after His example. Jesus died as payment for our sins, was buried, and rose again, conquering the grave. He died and was resurrected so we could live!

Paul explains Christ’s resurrection using the example of a seed. When you plant a seed, you don’t expect the seed to look the same when it grows. In the same way, our new heavenly body will no longer resemble our physical or natural body. We who are perishable will receive a spiritual body that is imperishable (v. 42).

Our earthly bodies are frail. We become ill. We experience pain. We are wounded. We die. Our new, resurrected body will be imperishable. Notice the beautiful contrast between our old and new bodies. Dishonor is changed to glory. Weakness is transformed to power. When we die, our bodies become the dust of the earth but will be raised in the glory of heaven. Once frail and destructible, we will no longer be subject to corruption. We will be made new, perfected in Christ, no longer broken but whole and complete.

Pray with Us

Today we ask that you pray for Moody Radio’s WRMB and its staff: Audrey Altman, Brigitte Sylvestre, Dolores King-St. George, Eric Johnson, and Becky Borgstrom. May their ministry bring the good news to many listeners in South Florida.

BY Jamie Janosz

Jamie Janosz serves as a content development manager for Moody Bible Institute. She writes monthly devotionals for Today in the Word and has published non-fiction essays with Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog. Recently Jamie wrote a book titled When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up (Moody Publishers). Jamie studied theology and writing at Moody Bible Institute, Columbia College, and Illinois State University. She lives on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband, Milt, and daughter, Sabrina.