by Julia Chen

I’ve been coming to Lighthouse for about two years now, and it has been a tremendous blessing to be a part of this particular church family. I appreciate the elders for their commitment to preaching God’s Word, and the members for continually seeking to build each other up in Christ. It’s true that there are many joys in life that I can attribute to my “Christian lifestyle” — I belong to a wonderful church community, and I have purpose in life, just to name a couple. But what if, hypothetically, Jesus Christ has not risen? Would the benefits of Christianity, outside of eternal blessing, be enough? These are some of the questions that Alex Ko raised in his sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:19 entitled “Most to be Pitied.”

In the passage, Paul argues that if Christ has not risen, then Christians would, in fact, be the people most to be pitied. In order to reach this conclusion, we must consider the implications of the idea that the dead cannot arise. Paul’s logic goes something like this: If the dead cannot rise, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is worthless, since Christianity revolves around the historical event of Christ’s resurrection. All believers would still be in their sins and would be condemned to eternal punishment because our hope in Christ goes only as far as this life.

So then why are Christians the most to be pitied? In Luke 9:23, Jesus says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This is not something to be taken lightly, but it is a complete and perpetual commitment. If we are to proclaim ourselves to be Christians, then we are to be Christ to the world, to bear His name. If Christ has not risen, then wouldn’t our natural response be to avoid suffering and seek out what’s best for us—YOLO, as it were? Conversely, we are called to live a life that is counter-cultural, to invest in heavenly rewards rather than pursue worldly pleasures.

As a young single adult living a relatively comfortable life in sunny San Diego, it’s easy to get lost in worldly pursuits. It’s not that the blessings in my life are bad; moreover, I need to remember the gospel, and my testimony—that I once hated God and was hopelessly lost in my sin. I need to take responsibility for my personal disobedience and acknowledge that it is only by God’s grace that I am saved. As Christians, we have all experienced God’s grace and have been set free by the glorious truth of Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, we should live in a way that reflects this. What we do in this life should bring us closer to God. We should be wholly dependent on our Sovereign Creator, and we should actively seek to glorify Him in all that we do. We are the most to be pitied if Christ has not risen because we have been called to the narrow path—and this is the path that we must strive towards—but we can find comfort in the fact that Christ is indeed risen, and that our hope in Him extends into eternity.