v 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.
But hold on a moment; talk of resurrection raises more questions than it solves. Does resurrection mean that our old bodies get up out of the grave and are reconstituted in some way – and what about cremation?
Paul’s illustration from plant life helps to form our thinking. I’m writing these notes in Mid-February (yes, really!) and right alongside me on a garden table in the loft room is a black tray with fresh damp compost in it. I have already sprinkled a number of tiny, hard, black seeds into the soil and am hoping to grow – well, something that looks very different and yet is related to those seeds. Guess what, I’m hoping for leeks. Just how different will they look!
In the same way, Paul envisages our resurrection bodies as being splendid, but radically different from, and yet in some way related to, our time-bound and decaying bodies.
Do I understand the ‘how’ of that happening? No, I don’t; but I shall watch the change and marvel at the growth process of leeks built into Creation by the same God who has planned the process of death and resurrection. This year, every time I plant seeds of flowers or vegetables, I shall marvel at the process that produces something splendid from a hard, unlikely looking seed.
And it will make me think of resurrection.
—