Corona Devo 1208

The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be...Ain't what she used to be..Ain't what she used to be...

I remember sing-songing this tune with my siblings when we were young, and I really had no idea what the words meant.  

But I sure do now.

This old gray mare ain't what she used to be either!  

Maybe you feel the same way.  Our bodies, once young and fresh and nimble--change over the years, no matter how hard we try.  Our bodies become less agile, more fragile, and year by year they just ain't what they used to be.

But (good news!) these aging bodies that we are in are also not what they will always be.

Death may be the end of this life and this body for us...but I Corinthians 15 is very clear in teaching us that the death of our earthly bodies will also be the beginning of new life and a new body for us. 

It's hard to explain a concept that our brains cannot even fully grasp, but the apostle Paul does a pretty great job anyway.  He uses examples that we can understand (seeds and plants) to parallel the idea of the new life and bodies that we will have in Heaven.

Paul's explanation is not a complete picture, but because God is God and we are not, it is unrealistic to expect that we will have one--this side of heaven.    

Some people fear death, and many fear the breakdown of our bodies, but even if the old gray mare ain't what she/he used to be...The Bible says that it will be!

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” (36) What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. (37) And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. (38) Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have... 

(42) It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. (43) Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. (44) They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.  

(45) The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.

(46) What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. (47) Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 

(48) Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. (49) Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.  

(50) What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.  

(51) But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! (52) It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. (53) For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.  ~I Corinthians 15:34-38, 42-58

~~~

It's a big concept...almost too much for our minds to fully understand...but this is the case with most of what God does.  The Bible (God's Word) gives us a glimpse, an idea, a foreshadowing of what is to come, and only when we experience it will we fully comprehend (and appreciate) it!

But we can believe The Bible and what God tells us through it.  We can trust it word-for-word.  And we can take God at His Word and His promises (whether we comprehend them or not).  

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. (43) Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. (44) They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies.    ~I Corinthians 15:42-44

Even in this old gray mare ain't what she/he used to be...The Bible says that we will be!


Blessings, 

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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