IS OUR FAITH IN VAIN?

Half the Story

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 (NASB)

I love to travel. It probably started when I was just a kid and my family would go on vacation. We would usually go camping at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. After encountering a severe nor’easter, we struck camp and finished the camping trip at North Bend Park at Kerr Lake in Virginia. It was always a special time of being with family, making new friends and exploring this beautiful land that God created. Even though fifty years have passed, I still like to travel. I enjoy learning the history of an area or people.

As I travel through the pages of history in the Bible, I am struck by the “salvation history” found throughout the text. This history is seen as God uses Noah to save a remnant of people through the flood or as Moses leads the Israelites to the “Promise Land”. This history climaxes in the person of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death on the cross is an incredible story of courageous selfless love in action. This is a story worth telling over and over. However, it is only half the story…

D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of the nineteenth century, assigned some ministerial students to conduct evangelistic tent meetings throughout the city of Chicago. The students were to preach nightly sermons as a means of winning souls for Christ and to practice their preaching. Dr. Moody personally showed up one night unannounced at one of the meeting places to hear one of his fledgling young ministers preach the gospel. The young man did quite well expounding on the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world. At the close of the service, he announced that everyone should come back the next night when he would “preach on the resurrection of Christ.” After the people left, Moody said, “Young man, many of these people will not be back tomorrow night and consequently have only heard half the gospel!” (Source unknown).

The other half of the story is the resurrection! Without the resurrection, the story even though thrilling, is not worth the telling. God raised Jesus from death and the grave! From this salvation history, an incredible hope springs forth enabling us to live life to the fullest extent.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the salvation history that shows You at work in every situation. The hope I gain from knowing You gives me the courage to live life with abandon. Help me to live it all the more! Please give me the courage to share with others in a real way this hope that is only found in You! I offer this prayer in matchless name of Jesus, Amen.