1 Corinthians 15:19 (ESV); If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to
be pitied.
If Christianity is just a crutch, as some call it, without any solid foundation of truth then Christians
are the most deceived people on the planet. If there is no eternal future for us, then our lives have
no real meaning or value. Christianity has never been built upon fluffy feelings and nice ideas;
Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be the Son of God, was put to death on a cross and rose from the
grave by the power of God! This is what Paul is preaching in 1 Corinthians 15. We know we have
eternity in store – that we will be resurrected one day – because Jesus was resurrected. And
because of this, we have an eternal hope in an eternal future and so we are, of all people, most to
be envied!
The promise of eternity is real, but we treat it as something distant, otherworldly, and frankly,
irrelevant for today. In reality, your life on earth is a dot; your 0 – 90 years are a speck. After death
comes the line – the never-ending line of eternity. The size of the dot is nothing compared to the
line, though what happens in the dot has everything to do with the line. We live for the dot when
we should be living for the line. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus said to Pilate, and yet
everything Jesus did in this world was for the sake of that kingdom.
We have a real faith in a real promise. Let us begin to live intentionally in the light of that promise,
clinging to the hope of a glorious future. Because of Christ we have hope in this life and in the next.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. In what ways are you living for the dot rather than the line?
2. How can you switch your focus and intention off of the dot and onto the line? What lifestyle
and thought changes will this require?
3. Meditate on the verse and the truth that we have hope for today and for the future because of
Christ. How can your life proclaim this truth?
