If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Cor. 15:19
If you profess to have hope in Christ then please consider for a moment where that hope is focused. Are you clinging to a hope that everything in this life will work out right for you because you are a Christian? Or is your hope fixed on the bigger picture of eternity?
The context of this Scripture tells us that there were actually some in the church at Corinth who were saying that there was no resurrection of the dead. This is a most serious error because, as Paul points out, if there is no resurrection of the dead then neither is Christ risen, and if Christ be not risen our faith is vain and we are yet in our sins. If there is no resurrection then this life is all there is, and there is therefore no salvation, no hope, and no eternity.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead" (v. 20) and Jesus himself said, "Because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19) Christ DID arise from the dead, and because He did, so will every man – "…some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12:2)
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; …And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Rev. 20:12-13
There WILL be a resurrection!
The unsaved do not think about a resurrection or eternal things at all. They concern themselves with this life only and live as if this is all there is. There are many folks who profess to be Christians, but who live as if the resurrection were not true. Our Scripture tells us that these are the most miserable people on earth. These people try to believe that all that goes on in their lives is God's working but they do not consider these things with eternity in view. For them God's work must have its beginning and end in their earthly life or they cannot be happy and they cannot continue to trust God. Obviously, things do not always have a happy ending in this life, even if you are a faithful child of God. So this leaves these people who have their hope "in this life only" very miserable and confused. Let us consider their case.
Since there WILL BE a resurrection we should live our lives in view of that fact, just as our spiritual ancestors did. For example, Abraham "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb. 11:10) That was the context in which he viewed his life and the things that happened to him. Listen to the description given in Hebrews 11 of the faithful through the ages and the way they viewed their lives:
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Heb. 11:13-16
If we get caught up in the cares of this life and begin to look on our earthly life as the sum total of our existence and purpose then we will never experience the joy of being a true child of God. We will not prepare ourselves for eternity, and our life here on earth will be tainted with misery.
If we live as if this life is all there is and attempt to make sense of it as a Christian then we will be confused and disappointed continually. God's view is much larger than ours. He is looking at our little lives and all that happens to us in the light of eternity, while we are looking around at the inside of our little box. Therefore, we are not able to understand many of the things that happen in our lives. They have eternal implications and value that we cannot know about now, "but we shall know hereafter." If we are living as if there is no resurrection and this life is all there is, we worry and fret ourselves into bitterness and anger over apparent injustices and undeserved losses and failures we suffer along the way. If our view of our existence is confined to this life only all our hopes end in disappointments because we are expecting here and now what God has reserved for eternity. We expect God to work things out for us according to our liking now and when it does not happen we question God and become confused and miserable.
If we try to understand God's workings in our life outside of eternity's view we will have a miserable life. If we embrace the idea that God is working in our life to exalt us and make us prosper then we will have no comprehension of the real work of God in our life. If we set our affections on things below and then suppose that God cares about what we care about we are totally off the mark and sure to find disappointment in our prayers and our hopes - God will not work with us or for us that way. If our greatest hopes and expectations are things in this life then we will have a life of disappointment and misery.
If we take all the promises of God and try to make them apply strictly to the things of this earthly life we will become disillusioned and confused. This is the error of many false teachers of our generation who take the promises which God gave in light of eternity and twist them to try to make them apply to carnal, temporal, earthly things. If we expect things to always fall our way because we serve the Lord we will face frequent disappointment. If we expect others to always treat us well and keep their promises to us because we serve God we will be disappointed again. In short, if we expect all things to work together for our good "in this life only" we are in for disappointment and misery. We must keep our sights on eternity and view everything that happens to us in that light, whether it is good or bad.
If we view Jesus as simply a means for a better earthly life we will be greatly disappointed in Him. Many, if not most, people enter into the Christian life with this in the forefront of their mind. Therefore, most do not continue because they find the Christian life full of too much disappointment and hardship. They find that instead of their life being increased by earthly standards and measures, many times it is diminished.
If we decide to become a Christian because it is a better way to live we will find it instead a miserable way to live. This is the same thing again: simply another form of selfishness, and trying to use God and his Word and his people to increase one's own happiness. A selfish person will continue to yearn to please themselves, and following Christ requires the denial of self - so they find it miserable and very displeasing. They are focused on making Jesus meet their needs in "this life only" but his kingdom is not of this world, so they find no satisfaction in Him.
The true Christian who lives with eternity in view is the only person who truly has joy. You cannot take his joy and hope from him because it is not based on this life only. You may deal him disappointments and dash all his earthly ambitions and hopes and plans, but he will rejoice in the fact that he will live in eternity without such heartaches. You may take all his possessions and he will still have joy and hope, because he knows that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." You may take away his health but he will still have joy, peace, and hope in his soul. You may take his loved ones, but he will live in the joy and expectation of being with them again in eternity. You may burn him at the stake, and he will lift his hands and praise God as his last testimony to the grace and goodness of God, as so many have actually done.
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18
So as a Christian we must be able to strike the proper balance while navigating through this life. This life IS better with Jesus as our guide - IF we view it all in the light of eternity. We ARE to enjoy life here because the Word of God tells us to "REJOICE with the wife of our youth," and to "LOVE LIFE and see good days," etc., but we are NOT to set our affections on things below. Jesus DID come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. It is a precarious journey for us to make our earthly plans and entertain our earthly hopes without letting those things take over the affection and ownership of our heart. It is a perilous journey because we are apt to forget God and eternity in our preoccupation with earthly cares. So we must "seek first" the kingdom of God and his righteousness and not allow earthly hopes, loves, and cares to derail us from our eternal hope. This takes continual dedication and effort on our part. It takes setting some standards and way marks and keeping them in place. They are like anchors, or guard rails, or safety ropes for our soul. It takes discipline to make time in your life for seeking God and meditating on his Word and his working and his Will in your life in the light of eternity. Without these precautions and safeguards you will become "of all men most miserable."
And another point to consider is the effect of our life on those who come after us. The influence of our character and the effects of our decisions and our works will be an important element in the lives of the generations that follow us. Our existence is not about "this life only" and we should strive to keep that fact before our minds at all times.
So keep Jesus in his proper place and eternity in view at all times and you will be of all men most blessed – here and in eternity.
Mike Miller
Sunday, March 27, 2011
