We need stability. Pandemics come and go, this won’t be the last one. Economics are up and down, there’s more month than money, gas prices are going up. We live in a cancel culture, we have relationship issues, and regular life happens: change of jobs, kids grow up, illnesses, car accidents. Where can you find stability? What can you put your money on, what can you bank on? What is solid and will not crumble? You need a lighthouse and the North Star to navigate by in the midst of the storm. You need radical hope when everything around you falls apart. You need a solid foundation to build on.
Christianity stands or falls on one event, the resurrection of Jesus. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and He appeared to many individuals and groups. The tomb is empty, there’s nobody in the grave. No other religion claims this. Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with a living savior. Our hope is Christ, His death, and resurrection, and we can hope in our resurrection. We know something better is coming. A dead savior ain’t worth spit. What good is a dead Messiah? Christ is our living head, living Messiah, living Lord and Savior, who did in fact die and did in fact rise. He will return and gather His people with Him for eternity. That’s a stable rock to stand on.
This is not my opinion and not an optional truth. It’s not true because I say it is and it’s not, “A nice truth for you, but not for me.” It’s as real as the newspaper you’re holding, as sure as George Washington was our first president. It’s as guaranteed as the first-century believers imprisoned and dying for their faith. It’s as true as Paul, who once persecuted the church but then became its biggest supporter. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then preaching is in vain and faith is in vain, and I am a liar who misrepresents God because I told you Christ rose from the dead. If Christ is not raised, you are still in your sins, there is no hope for life after death, and we are pitiful people. Woe is us.
But in fact, we have stability in this: Christ rose from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have died. We have hope to be alive again when He returns. He will reign and God will be our all in all. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, we can be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain. We are stable.