There’s an old saying: “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true.” There are some things that are so farfetched that their veracity is questioned at every turn.

A few Thursdays ago, I was watching 20/20 on ABC. One of their segments devoted itself to one of the current fads: detoxification of the body. The segment’s specific focus was on a brand of Detox Foot Pads. For $19.99 your can purchase a two-week supply that is guaranteed to rid your body of all those horrible toxins. All you have to do is put a pad on the bottom of each foot when you go to bed and the next morning remove them to discover, with sight and smell, all those toxins that deplete your body of necessary energy. Improve your health and wellness for only $19.99, plus shipping and handling.

But wait! There’s more. As an extra bonus for purchasing the Detox Foot Pads, you’ll receive, at no additional cost, a set of Detox Eye Patches designed to remove the appearance of dark circles, crow’s feet, and puffy eyes. 20/20 did their usual investigation and interviewed some folks who tried the footpads only to discover there was no change in the way they felt. While leaving it up to the viewer, 20/20 concluded consumers are just wasting their money if buying those pads. It’s just one of those things that seem too good to be true and in all likelihood is not true.

There are many “seems too good to be true” things in life. Those “seems too good to be true” things have been around forever I suppose. It is possible to detect them even in the resurrection of Jesus of from the dead. Have you ever thought about resurrection being something that seems too good to be true?

In Acts 1 there is a hint it was. Please hear these words from verses 1-5. “In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This,’ he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”

Luke, the author of these words, addressed them to a certain “Theophilus.” We are first introduced to Theophilus in Luke 1. Theophilus is a Greek name meaning “lover of God” or “dear one to God.” Scholars aren’t sure who he was. He may have been a benefactor sponsoring the publication of both volumes, the Gospel of Luke and Acts. Or Theophilus may have simply been a symbolic name for any Christ-follower who would read these words. Perhaps you and I, and every other saint, are Theophilus – lovers of God and ones who are dear to God. Surely we are. Luke wrote about everything Jesus did from the beginning of His public ministry until His glorious ascension. That formal accounting is found in Luke 3:21-24:53.