Dusty Dry Bones

The Basic Human Reality: Dust to Dust

Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

Ecclesiases doesn't miss and hit the wall, it lays it out pretty bluntly. Humans and animals share the same fate! We're all made from the "dust," and when we die, our bodies go back to dust!

It's a cycle, birth, life, death, decay. No sugar-coating here, our physical bodies are 100% mortal, temporary, and bound by time!

What about those who were raised... only to die a second time?

The Bible tells us about a few people who were brought back to life, such as Lazarus and Jairus's daughter for example. But here's the key thing to bear in mnd: they were resuscitated, not resurrected into a new kind of life! They got their same old mortal bodies back. Reannimated, they got a second chance at life, but eventually, they had to die all over again!.

But these events are like preview trailers; for they show us God's power over death, but they're not the final, upgraded version of life!

The Game Changer: Jesus's Resurrection

Jesus's resurrection was a totally different category. He didn't just revive. His tomb was empty, the grave clothes remained on the slab, in place, yet his body was transformed into something new and incorruptable as He conquered death permanently!

Jesus rose to eternal life, never to die again. His post-resurrection body could eat and be touched, yet He could also appear inside locked rooms, no need for a door, and He could ascend to heaven no longer restricted to the physical realm. His resurrected body was physical, yet upgraded. It was no longer subject to decay, weakness, or death for it was the first of its kind, the prototype. An immortal, enhansed "glorified" physical body!

Paul's Take: What's the "New Body" All About?

The Apostle Paul dug deep into this. (and remember, Paul wrote before the Gospels were written down) He used an analogy that we can still relate to: a seed and a plant.

The mortal body is the seed. It's buried and decays.

The resurrected body is the full-grown plant. It comes from the seed, but it's a glorious, new, and permanent form.

Paul called this new body a "spiritual body"

1 Corinthians 15:44
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Now don't let the word "spiritual" mislead you here; Paul didn't mean a ghostly or non-physical body. He meant a body perfectly animated by and suited for eternal life with God. A body that's immortal, powerful, and imperishable.

Paul highlights its qualities;

Imperishable: No aging, sickness, or decay. (thank goodness, as the older we get the more aches we have! Who wants that back?)

A glorious body: Radiant, reflecting God's goodness.

A Powerful power: No weakness or limitations.

A Heavenly body: Designed for the new creation, the new Heaven and Earth!

So, What's the Takeaway for Us?

Our journey goes: Dust (our current body), then Death and ultimately Glory (our future body).

Our mortality isn't the end of the story; it's a transition point. Jesus's resurrection wasn't some one-off magic trick. It was the launch of a new reality and proof that death isn't the final boss for it no longer holds any sting.

For those who follow Christ, the promise is this: we will be given a body like Jesus' resurrected body. Not a ghostly existence, but a solid, real, upgraded, and eternal body that's perfect in every way!

It reframes everything. Death becomes a doorway for us, not an end or an impenetrable wall. The hope isn't avoiding death, but receiving through resurrection what Jesus already has, a life that lasts forever, in a body that can't be broken!

Have a great week, and God bless,

Trev.