Day Eighteen

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1)

Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:1–4

Ionce had a well-meaning Sunday School teacher who made the statement, “If when life is over I discover I was wrong in what I believed, at least I will have lived the good life.” We all nodded nobly. I remember thinking: I guess he’s right. Even if we’re wrong, we’ve lived good, honest lives and helped people. The more I grew in God’s Word, however, the more I considered the philosophy outrageous. We have not made up a “religion,” been misled by emotions, or concocted answers in our desperation.

The Spirit birthed the church in the hearts of eyewitnesses—people who saw Christ with their own eyes and touched Him with their own hands. John watched as Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. He saw Christ raise the dead. He heard Jesus foretell His suffering and death on the cross; then he watched in horror at the fulfillment of every detail. He saw Mary Magdalene’s expression when she came with the news of the empty tomb. He ran to see the evidence for himself. Later John gathered with the other disciples behind locked doors when Christ appeared among them. He saw Christ’s pierced hands and side with his own eyes.

The twelve were not the only ones who saw the resurrected Christ with their own eyes. First Corinthians 15:6 tells us Christ appeared to five hundred other followers assembled in one place. By the time Christ gathered with His disciples to commission them, He had erased all doubt. He said, “And you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Eyewitnesses. They watched their risen Savior ascend into the heavens, then lived the rest of their days on the passionate certainty of what they had seen . . . and touched. These followers did not lay down their lives for their hopes. Facing the sword has a strange way of sobering a soul. Honesty surfaces and nobility disappears. Had they doubted, at least one of them would have broken under the pressure to save his own skin. Not one of them withheld a single moment of their lives from Christ. The same twelve men who once struggled with pride, disbelief, and inability were transformed into unstoppable powerhouses, undaunted by imprisonment, persecution, and the threat of death.

Beloved, the New Testament church was birthed on facts—not myths, legends, or well-meaning philosophies, but on things seen, heard, touched, and experienced. Things the twelve could not keep to themselves. They didn’t just believe. They knew! In those uneasy moments when you realize how outnumbered you are and how many people do not believe, remember: our faith is founded on fact. When life is over, you will not have simply lived the good life . . . you will see with your eyes and touch with your hands the Way, the Truth, and the Life.