What If Eternity Isn’t Really Waiting?
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. -1 Corinthians 15
What If Eternity Isn’t Really Waiting?
Eternal life… Just the words draw us forward to a time that Revelation says will have no pain, sorrow, death, or struggle. It is one of the keystones of the Christian life. A reward waiting faithfulness and service. But what if we are simply wrong, and when we die, it all ends?
Years ago there was a song by Andraé Crouch which asked if serving God was all about gaining our reward in eternity. A line that has echoed through my life went like this, “If heaven never was promised to me, neither God’s promise to live eternally, it’s been worth it, just having the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, He came along and brought me the light.”
Much of the Old Testament contains people who lived for God, and with God, without ever professing a belief in eternal life. Today, we understand about eternal life, but have a hard time getting our rational minds around it. And I can say with confidence along with Andraé, that my life is not to be pitied if there is no eternal life as Paul suggests. God gives me purpose, love, power, and rewards in this life that have sustained me and made my life immeasurably better. God turned my life around and transformed it for the better.
But there is Good News: Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. It isn’t a fairytale or a story we tell children to give them hope. I know this to be true because I know God. And it is that relationship with God that leads me to have hope and to trust in the words of Jesus. He has promised us glory… And Jesus doesn’t lie, and neither does the Holy Spirit that speaks assurance to my spirit.
Life is better with God in it. Abundantly better. And, when the dark, shadowy valleys begin to form around us, God will be with us… to take us to glory.
Pastor Tom