The Conclusion

This post is tied directly to The bottom of the lists, which may be worth reading for point of context.

After spending an inordinate amount of time Facebooking and emailing people who are my friends, people who I barely know, and people who are not my friends but who may be willing to vote for me anyway (and the best of all, people who I do not even know, but love the FB community well enough to 'like' me sight unseen), I pulled ahead of my competition, 220 to 170, which is pretty good given that my enemy combatant had 70 'likes' before I got started.
I'm sitting at church and thinking that I might actually win this thing (between announcements, of course; I'm sure I was listening the rest of the time), that I might actually be given the gift of LASIK (forget Jared). 

That was until I checked the tallies around 4pm, whereby my 50 vote advantage devolved into 90 person hole, 225 to 315. Turns out this part-time fire fighter is also a youth minister. How can one compete against such reckless connections? I can see it now: two dozen teen-churched facebookers granted permission (nay, asked) to whip out their device of choice and spread 'likes' amongst their web of friends. 

"You've got to know when to fold them."

The bottom of the lists

An unexpected email yesterday from the Thomas Eye Group, a rather large outfit here in Atlanta. Maggie had nominated me as one worthy of free LASIK surgery, writing a short essay of my general contributions to life (taking her cue from the political establishment, the writing exaggerates the reality). Worthy or not, it is a generous gesture. The trick, for myself and the two other finalists, was to convince the Facebook world to 'like' one of us the most.

Somehow I am expected to branch out and ask friends, Romans, countrymen to do the great favor of "liking" me, crossing all sorts of indeterminate lines in my life. But if Maggie has gone out on this limb to honor me, and Thomas Eye has taken a step of faith that this gift of theirs will gain some sort of advertisement medium, I need to swallow my introverted pride and get bawdy.

In a moment of appropriate irony, LASIK is something I would love to have, but will never likely put on the top of the list of financial expenditures ("Sorry, kids. No Disney this year. Dad doesn't like his glasses."). I am now being asked to win a LASIK contest to move this dream-ticket to the top of the heap, as long as I engage in self-promotion, distinctly at the bottom of my activity-list.

     "Uhmmm, excuse me, but would you mind clicking this link and 'liking' me?" - too pitiful.

     "My wife really wants you to..." - don't hide behind Maggie; be a man.

     "This is SO CRAZY! I cannot believe that this once in a lifetime opportunity has landed on my lap. I'm just hoping you want to join me in this." - too bobble-headed.

Time to start begging...

The Effects...

See posts What He Says and What He Did for the first portions of this line of thought.

Jesus' resurrection is a key point in both the Christian faith and Christian living. From 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15:

• The Jesus story, condensed: 
• verses 3-4 - Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead
• Resurrection as a Key Component of the Christian Faith
• vs 12-14 - if Jesus hasn't been raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain
• vs 17-19 - if Jesus hasn't been raised from the dead, our faith is worthless, and we are stuck in our sins; we put our hope in the wrong source, and are to be most pitied
• vs 32 - if the dead are not raised, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"
• What Jesus' Resurrection does:
• vs 21-22 - Adam, the first man, brought death; Jesus, the Messiah/Christ, brought resurrection from the dead.
• vs 45-47 - "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit."
• Resurrection in its Importance to the Individual
• vs 26 - "The last enemy that will be abolished is death."
• vs 51-57 - Mystery... dead will be raised, imperishable... this mortal will put on immortality... "Death is swallowed up in victory"... thanks be to God, who gives the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
• vs 35-38 - the seed is sown and dies before it comes to fruition
• vs 42-44 - our body is sown perishable, dishonor, weakness, natural... then raised imperishable, in glory, in power, spiritual