In these verses, Paul talks about being fearlessly faithful to Christ even in the face of death, being confident that if you were to die, just like Jesus you would be raised up as well.
It's hard to fathom in the here and now. First, living in America, even if you believe in Chuck Norris and wear tin foil hats and put on your underwear on the outside of your pants, no one can really "punish" you for any of that. Yesterday as we prayer-walked through the mall, the idea of going up to a random stranger talking about Christ, faith, hope...honestly it conjured mental images of folks who wander around the streets, handing out pamphlets and wearing sandwich boards.
But, are those guys the ones who are doing more of the right thing? Nowdays, it seems like the preferred avenue of evangelism is the "long sell." Cultivate a relationship, earn, if not trust, at least respect and try hard not to be weird. When the opportunity presents itself, put forth a dignified and gracious testimony that will fall on friendly and maybe receptive ears.
Are we lesser Christians than the early Corinthians? Paul wrote these words to prepare the Corinthians for the possibility of death in the name of Christ. It's almost like Paul feels emboldened to proclaim the gospel widely, because he's playing with house money; even if they crucify him, he's telling the Corinthians not to worry because they'll be raised up by God alongside Jesus anyways.
In my life, I won't die for proclaiming the gospel. At worst, they'll look at me and see the sandwich board guy. But instead of being more bold, I'm more reticent.
On the other hand, maybe the early Christians had more of a backed-into-a-corner mentality, where it was more of a "fight or flight" choice. Given those choices, maybe it was just simpler. I honestly don't think, there was anything "more special" about people from those days. Maybe not as much in this particular passage, but in other passages the topics Paul broaches indicate that the early church had similar church problems/dynamics as we do today. So, they probably weren't that much better or worse than we are now...People are, after all, people.
This is the first devotional blog I've written at night, before bed. I definitely feel like I can organize my thoughts a bit better, since I've had time to let it marinate on the mind... Maybe this week I'll try writing at night.
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