HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2012 / SPRING / THE LIFE EXAMINED WITH CAROLYN MACOMBER
S P R I N G • 2 0 1 2
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 1
D E P A R T M E N T S
The life EXAMINED with Carolyn Macomber
“Could you repeat that?” I said. My pastor was explaining why the resurrection was important, and feeling a little foolish I asked again, “Would you say that one more time? It is the first time I’ve ever heard it.”
Finally, abandoning my embarrassment I asked again, “Please tell me again, this is amazing! I never knew this—I just need to hear it one more time.”
I was sitting in my pastor’s living room with some former Adventists discussing the differences between Adventism and Christianity. We migrated in our conversation to the upcoming Easter celebration at our church. I offhandedly said, “Easter is one of those things that we didn’t really celebrate in the Adventist Church ... In fact, celebrating Easter was frowned upon. We were taught that Christianity had gone astray from God’s law, beginning to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, because of Christ’s resurrection. In this way the early church was deceived by Satan and began worshiping on Sunday instead of God’s true Sabbath—Saturday. Therefore, we were frowned at if we mentioned the resurrection as anything special.”
Calmly and carefully, my pastor went over the Scripture that details the importance of the resurrection to our faith as Christians. Then he asked me an insightful question, “What did you think last year when you celebrated Easter?” I explained that I had gone along with the celebration—not fully understanding the big deal—yet wanting to fit in with others. I was amazed at the event people had made it to be, with big, special meals (bigger and fancier than Thanksgiving). I had been invited to 5 different homes—more than at Thanksgiving, and everyone was talking about their Easter celebrations and who would be coming. I really hadn’t understood the excitement, but I liked the invitations. I shared how I had sat around a large family room table at a friend’s daughter-in-law’s home, reading the passion of Christ from the Bible, and then watching the children opening eggs with Scripture references and little emblems of the crucifixion and resurrection. It was wonderful. Yet, I still internally didn’t understand the “big” celebration.
No other religion
Now, the significance of the resurrection was dawning on me. It was a “big” deal. As one former Adventist put it, “No other religion has a leader that has been resurrected from the dead and was seen again by eye witnesses—No other religion!” My pastor read from 1 Corinthians 15 the following passage: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are STILL IN YOUR SINS. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
If the resurrection of Christ didn’t happen, then my faith should be abandoned as a cruel deception. If the resurrection didn’t happen, why would I even worship in a Christian church? If the resurrection wasn’t true—I was lost, dead in my sin, with no hope of rescue and no thought of eternal life. The resurrection was a “BIG DEAL”!
I felt I had been robbed of the most important kingpin of my faith. Seventh-day Adventism had taught me to minimize the resurrection. Its meaning had been deceptively twisted into something far from Scripture’s revelation. Adventism teaches that Christendom dishonored God’s law by beginning to worship on Sunday to honor Christ’s resurrection. I had been taught as an Adventist that God’s law has not changed, so there is no reason to worship on Sunday. The meaning of the resurrection had been twisted into a deceptive ploy by Satan to destroy God’s law and lead Christ’s followers astray. I had been duped into believing a lie that stripped Christ of His resurrection glory and power.
When we went to prayer that evening after hearing the significance of the resurrection of Christ, I broke down in tears. I, too, had life in Christ, and one day I, too, would be resurrected. I had the assurance of life eternal with the One Who called Himself the Resurrection. Words could not express my joy at the foundation of my faith—only tears would do.
I look forward with anticipation to this coming Easter, and its meaning is clear to me. Christ is alive, and because He lives, I have the assurance of resurrection! †
Copyright 2012 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Casa Grande, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised April 18, 2012. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
Carolyn Macomber was a doctoral student at Andrews University when she discovered inconsistencies between Adventism and the Bible. She withdrew her membership from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2009. She is a member of The Chapel Evangelical Free Church in St. Joseph, Michigan, where she is the leader of a Former Adventist Fellowship. She teaches at an inner-city private school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and she is a small group leader for Bible Study Fellowship in Granger, Indiana.
