"Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
What a bunch of nonsense. ...So it would seem anyway. This is literally what we Christians believe will happen as Heaven meets Earth. This doesn't make any logical sense, does it? The dead will be raised? New, immortal and imperishable bodies? It defies the laws of nature. What's dead is dead. What's gone is gone. There is no coming back. That's natural.
So then, we have Jesus. He died and was raised again on the third day. Many don't understand the significance of Christ's resurrection. What is the purpose of Jesus coming back from the dead? Some say that his rising proves that he is God. Lazarus was raised from the dead. A 12 year old girl was raised from the dead. Neither of those two were God... so what makes Jesus so special?
Jesus was the first person to come back with an imperishable body. Jesus today sits at the right hand of God in his immortal flesh. This is significant to us because this is God's promise to us that we too will rise from the dead and have eternal bodies. Many don't realize this. Many think that upon death, our soul floats up to heaven, in the clouds, where we have wings and play harps. That isn't true. We rest and on the Lord's day, we will all rise with our new bodies to be in God's kingdom forever and ever.
It's much easier to believe that our souls are simply carried to heaven by angels, isn't it?
I don't know how that terrible theology crept into Christianity, but as hard as it is to believe in resurrection from the dead, that is what our faith, when theologically correct, teaches us.
But this idea isn't logical! It doesn't make any sense! What's dead is dead. What's gone is gone!
I wonder why people try to make Christianity sound like a reasonable and rational religion. It's not. It's absurd! Reason out the virgin birth! Explain turning water into wine! What's the rationale behind resurrection from the dead? How can a person walk on water? These are things that don't make sense, and they defy the laws of nature. The very point of miracles is that they don't make sense to the calculated world. They point to something bigger than nature itself: God. So if God is in the business of defying natural law, why are there so many Christians that believe that our faith is logical? Why are there Christians trying to prove God with science?
What does it mean that the first shall be last and the last shall be first? Those who humble themselves will be exalted? If you are struck on your right cheek, turn and offer the left? Love your enemies? I am the bread of life? Those who eat my flesh will never be hungry? I am the living water? Those who drink from me will never be thirsty? These ways of thinking are backwards in some instances. In others, they are completely insane and make absolutely no sense whatsoever! Many people, even Christians, reject these very important teachings of our Lord because they can't make sense out of them... But Jesus says they work. How? Why?
We can't turn our cheeks all the time. If we don't defend ourselves, we can get hurt, or worse, our loved ones may die! That's an upside down way of thinking! Jesus seems to be saying, "Exactly!"
What we have in God, is a mystery. Everything about our faith is a mystery. Jesus is God? Yes. But the Father is also God? Yes. But isn't the Holy Spirit God? Yes. So they are all God? Yes. How does that make any sense? I don't know. It's a mystery. Mary is the mother of Jesus? Yes. And Joseph was his father? Well, no. God is. So God is the father of Jesus? Yes. And Jesus is God? Yes. WHAT?!? Don't ask me how this makes sense, because it doesn't. It's a divine mystery.
We live in a world that seeks answers for all of the questions life throws at us. There is nothing wrong with searching for answers. That is how we make progress, but God is always a mystery. Mystery is rare these days, and when we come across an unsolved mystery, we feel uncomfortable and disconcerted. We want answers to life's most asked questions. When we are dealing with what is spiritual, however, we are dealing with that which can't be quantified or qualified. The spiritual is an unseen, but still, very connected part of our world. By nature, we can't prove it's existence, but we can trust in it's revelation to us.
Embracing the holy mysteries of God gives a feeling of freedom. It forces one to accept the fact that we may try, but we can never know everything. Mystery is what keeps us human. Mystery allows God to remain holy. Questions of God may arise, as they always do, but knowing that God is shrouded in mystery makes me comfortable to give the answer that many are afraid to give: "I don't know."
Jimmy Mallory is a Religion major at Wright State University. He also serves as the youth director of Concord United Methodist Church and works at the Cokesbury Bookstore at United Theological Seminary. His goal is to one day become an ordained Deacon for the United Methodist Church and serve by teaching Church history and theology in a higher education setting. Jimmy is married to the breath-takingly gorgeous Tesia Mallory and they have a dog named Omega and a bird named Gloria. You can find more of his blogs at jmallory.xanga.com