April 5 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of a new life for all believers. It's also the pledge of our resurrection (1 Cor. 15). The study of Colossians is part of this month's meditations on the meaning of the resurrection.

Bible Reading:

1 Corinthians 15:35–44

Bible Text:

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be.... But God gives it a body as he has determined (1 Cor. 15:37–38).

Devotional:

God has promised to someday raise us from death and give us new bodies. I don't know any biblical teaching that is harder to believe or imagine. But Paul helps us get a grip on this teaching.

First, he wants us to realize that the corruption of our present body does not prevent us from getting a new one someday. A Christian funeral is like the planting of a seed. Unless a seed is buried, there can be no new life. Further, what we sow is not a fully developed plant. We sow a kernel, a seed, and eventually it grows into a tall plant.

If we look at what goes into the earth, we do not yet have a picture of what will come out. As Paul says, "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies" (v. 36). Then, when the time comes, "God gives it a body as he has determined."

Thus Paul teaches us to observe the old creation. He wants us to notice the "bodies" of plants, the "bodies" of flesh (birds and fish and animals) and the "bodies" in the sky. Look at the endless variety, he says. In the new creation, the power of God, who raised Jesus from death, will be displayed in even greater glory.

From his unlimited resources, the sovereign God will bring forth new bodies with amazing might and in astounding variety.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.