The Hope Of Eternity

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1Co 15:19 AV)

The context here is a dispute over the resurrection.  Both Jesus’ resurrection and our own.  The church at Corinth was influenced to believe there was no resurrection.  Either of Jesus or our eventual resurrection.  The argument Paul was making was if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we would not either.  Our life will be confined to the breath we breathe.  When we breathe our last breath, then we seek to exist.  If that is the case, and there is no hope beyond the grave, then what point is there in anything?  It is the hope of eternal life that gives a motive for life today.  It is the reality of heaven that gives us strength and endurance for the difficult times of the day.   If there is no tomorrow, then what difference does today make?  It is the rainbow after the storm, the dessert after the meal, the sunshine breaking the horizon on a cold winter’s morning.  It is the hope of eternity that is the life for today.  If we cannot dwell on eternity, then we are indeed most miserable.

Cancer stinks.  Just sayin’.  I have learned a lot going through this journey.  I have learned a lot about myself.  More importantly, I have learned a lot about eternal truths.  Not so much the fact of these truths, but rather, the implication and application of them.  For instance, you have all sorts of weird thoughts you never thought you would have.  When you have a loved one who is diagnosed with a potentially serious disease, thoughts of life without them begin to enter your mind.  I have my moments.  There are times I am confident God will be with me through those times; if they come; and times I am terrified.  But one thought overrides the possibility of life without my beloved.  When you are younger, you hear these words from the elderly as though they are cliché.  You think these are words that older people say because they are supposed to say them.  But I am finding out these words are very true and are often the truth that you hold on to.  Regardless of how our lives play out for the remainder of them, I can say this for certain.  Because of the resurrection, we may be parted for a short time, but we have all of eternity together.  That is if she will still have me. 😉  There are no sad goodbyes.  There is no finality.  There is only an interruption.  It really does not matter what tomorrow looks like because we have eternity.  The world may want to steal our hope.  But they cannot.  Why?  Because they cannot take tomorrow; and the next day; and the next day!

People who give no thought of eternity are content in the trouble of today.  Their eyes are in the wrong place.  They are trying to change a world which they cannot change.  They have no patience.  They have no long-term hope.  All their joy rests in the circumstances and goals of the present.  The phrase ‘patient continuance’ comes to mind.  Knowing there is a finish line and knowing we are heading headlong towards it gives us joy for today.  We can endure a lot if we know there is a tomorrow.  We can accomplish a lot today if we know there is rest tomorrow.  There are two types of people.  Those who slack off on Fridays because they know the weekend is coming, and those who know the clock is running and the harder they work toward the end of the day, the sweeter the weekend will be.  It is like running track.  When we see the finish line, we pick up the pace knowing our race is almost over.  If I didn’t have eternity to look forward to, I would give up today.