In Pursuit of JesusSample

The Real Deal

Sometimes cleaning out Grandpa’s attic pays off. For an Ohio man, it paid off in the discovery of a more than 100-year-old set of mint-condition baseball cards. Appraisers placed the cards’ value at $3 million.

One key to the high value of those cards was the fact that they were well-preserved. But beyond that, the true worth of the cards rested in the fact that they were authentic. If they’d been fakes or counterfeits—no matter how good they looked—they wouldn’t have been worth the cardboard they were printed on.

The apostle Paul had something similar to say about Christianity. He said that our faith would be completely worthless and counterfeit if Jesus’ resurrection were not the real deal. It took bravery and confidence in God’s plan for Paul to say, “If Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless” (1 Corinthians 15:14) and “if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins” (v. 17).

The Christian faith rests on the authenticity of this story: Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead. Praise God for the clear evidence of Christ’s death and resurrection (vv. 3–8). It’s the real deal, and we can stake our eternity and our total dependence on God on its truth.  —Dave Branon

What helped you to see that Jesus was the real deal? How do you seek to show that He’s real?

Lord, we’re eternally thankful for the truth confirmed in Your Word and in our hearts that You died and rose again for us. We love You, Lord, and lift our voices in praise!