This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a Man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

When it comes to new technology, are you an early adopter? Are you like my dad, who installed dial-up internet in our house back in the 1990s, when they still called it the “information superhighway”? Dial-up, if you remember, downloaded at horse-and-buggy speed. New technologies often over-promise, which is why most of us are not early adopters. We’re content to wait and see if this new thing will actually make our lives easier, or not.

In today’s reading, the Bible uses an agricultural term to describe Jesus. But, for our context, God may have inspired the writer to put it in technological terms. Maybe he’d say that Jesus is the “display model” of a new product line. He’s the prototype of a new humanity. In ancient agrarian society, that’s what firstfruits were. They were the representative sample of the full inventory to come. If a prospective buyer were considering purchasing a harvest of grain still in the field, the farmer might pick a small portion to let the buyer see what the rest of the harvest would look like. And if the firstfruits were good enough, that buyer would become an “early-adopter” and purchase the rest of the grain still to be harvested. So, if the risen Jesus is the firstfruits, in techy terms we’d say He’s the display model. See, the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t just a special miracle God did only for Him. In Jesus, we get to see what God promises to do for us who belong to Him. Our bodies, now either dying or dead, will be resurrected to be the exact same make and model of Jesus’ crucified and risen body. Eternal life does not mean floating in the clouds like ghosts with harps. No, we’ll get to work with Jesus and walk with Jesus, caring for God’s new creation, like how God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

The technological metaphor does have shortcomings, though. When I think of a display model, I tend to imagine myself as the buyer, trying to decide if this gadget is going to make my life easier, or not. But in the firstfruits analogy, we should understand the buyer as God. He’s the One who pays for the harvest. He paid for it by sending His Son to become the harvest, to be the Seed who dies to bring forth much grain (see John 12:24). And Jesus, He’s the early adopter, the eternal adopter of the Father’s plan, and He didn’t do it to make His life easier. He did it for love—love for God, His Father, and love for us, for you. And even now, you get to share in His love, to be part of His body, with God as your life, with Jesus as your Head, with love as your goal, creation-care as your calling, and relationships your reward.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler

WE PRAY: Dear Father, whether early or late to the party, help me become an all-in adopter of Your plan. In Jesus. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Which resonates more with you, the technological or the agricultural analogy? Why?

2. At a funeral someone says of the body in the casket, “That’s just her shell. That’s not the real ” How does this Bible passage offer a different perspective?

3. Trusting God’s promise to restore creation and raise our bodies, how does this affect your decisions today?

Today's Readings:
Joshua 13-15
Luke 10:25-42