OnFire #145 A Place Called Uncertain

OnFire Encouragement Letter

Hi folks:

Only 5 days until Jan and Mark go to Denver for the Sport Stacking World Championships. They are starting to get excited. A few days ago Mark got a splinter in his hand which still hasn’t come out. As I write, he is soaking it to see if that will help lift it.

We had a good Easter weekend. “Sunrise” service at 8:30, morning worship at 11 with a good crowd out, and then we did the nursing home service in the afternoon. It was a special day.

Ian was at the regional science fair today. Unfortunately he didn’t win anything, but we are proud parents as always

That’s it for this week. I hope you continue to discover the joy of Easter.

Troy

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This past week I discovered something neat. There is a small city in Texas named Uncertain. Yes, there is such a place. It is located on the shores of beautiful Caddo Lake, the state’s only naturally formed lake. In the 20's, a fresh-water pearl industry flourished. Today, tourists come to take pictures, hunt, fish, and watch Red-Ear Slider turtles come out to lay their eggs.

The city got its name because of the lake’s fluctuating water levels. As steamboats travelled across the lake, it was often difficult to find good anchorage. Mooring was said to be uncertain, and the name stuck.

I’m sure that the city’s 196 residents find Uncertain a nice place to live. It is hard, however, to live in uncertainty. That’s why, in this Easter season, I want to point us to 1 Corinthians 15. The whole chapter is devoted to the resurrection and it is worth reading over again because of Paul’s teaching and the passion in his words. The resurrection is crucial to our faith as Christians. No resurrection, no faith. Christianity is futile, says Paul in verse 17, if Jesus was not raised from the dead.

We hear a lot these days about the resurrection being symbolic of God’s power to bring life out of death, to heal heartache and pain, to breath life into the tombs of dark souls. While this is certainly true, the resurrection is about more than symbol or metaphor. As Paul said, “If Christ is not raised, our faith is futile.”

If the resurrection is only metaphor, we’re trying to moor our lives in uncertainty. It would be like tying a boat to a buoy, only to discover that it is not actually attached to anything. We are free to float, thinking we are secure, only to crash on the rocks when the wind turns against us. If the resurrection is only an idea, then, as Paul says in verse 19, we are to be pitied more than anyone else because our hope does not go beyond this life.

The reality of the resurrection gives us certainty in our faith. Jesus Christ was dead, and now he lives. He died for our sins. He rose to bring us life. And we know that everyone in Christ will rise with him in new life after this one. We have certainty.

When life is uncertain, let us not hope in a metaphor or cling to an idea. Rather, let us find our hope in the certainty of the death and resurrection. Jesus is alive.

I hope this helps. Be OnFire,

Troy

ON FIRE is a weekly letter of encouragement by Troy Dennis. To be added to or removed from the ON FIRE list contact him at onfireletter@gmail.com  . Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com This letter published Mar 26, 2008.