If you follow Jesus, some people will envy you and some people will pity you. The people who envy you will admire your faith and your confidence in your eternal future. The people who pity you will think you are gullible and likely to be disappointed. The reason people will envy you, or pity you, is because of your faith in the resurrection.
If you believe in the resurrection, you have forgiveness of sins. It may not be immediate apparent, but resurrection and forgiveness of sins are closely correlated. When God first created the world, there was no death. Death came into the world as a result of sin. When God raised Jesus from the dead, it was a victory over both sin and death. If you believe in the resurrection, you are also likely to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and you are to be envied.
If you believe in the resurrection, you know what has happened to those who have died. What happens to grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, and everyone else we knew and loved who have died? The Christian faith is unique in that we believe in the preservation of identity and personality. In the next life, you will still be you and I will still be me. If you believe in the resurrection, you know you will see your loved ones again, and you are to be envied.
If you believe in the resurrection, you know about your own future. You know that because God raised Jesus from the dead, it will be your resurrection, too. Jesus is what the Bible calls first fruits, the first to be raised from the dead, the first of a large family of brothers and sisters, which includes you. If you believe in the resurrection, you know your own future, and you are to be envied.
In our sermon this Sunday, we will talk about the resurrection, and how it makes us the envy of the world.