Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 14-15
Meditation Verse: 15:58
Thought
The fact of the resurrection and our eternal life is the motivation for living a righteous and holy life. It is the reason and support for being devoted to the Lord and to doing His work. If not for the resurrection, we would have no reason to hope and nothing else to live for but this life. Without the resurrection, it would be right to pity those who believed in Christ because they have wasted their only chance at life and will be ultimately disappointed when death takes them and they discover that there was no Heaven to receive them. But because of the resurrection and the sure promise of immortality in a world ruled by Christ and by His Father, so we can live for and pursue a better resurrection. We can live to please God, giving up worldly pursuits, controlling our fleshly lusts, walking in obedience to God and calling others to repent and believe in Jesus. Because of the certainty of the resurrection and eternity in God's kingdom, we can devote our lives to building up His kingdom and storing up treasure in heaven across the gap of death.
Application
Because of the certainty resurrection, I can and should remain firm in my trust in Christ and I can devote my life to serving His kingdom and His purposes. My labors for the Lord are not wasted effort, but will be richly rewarded when Jesus returns to rule this earth. Whatever I lose out on, whatever I give up in obedience and service to the Lord, it is not in vain, but it is the wisest use of the few days I have in this world. I have no reason to doubt, no reason to hesitate, but should have all confidence that the Lord will return and reward me for walking in obedience to His will and giving up the pursuit worldly things in order to invest my time and effort in proclaiming His kingdom and His Gospel. Because the resurrection is certain, I can have confidence to encourage others to give up whatever life they could have on earth in order to invest in the life they will have beyond the grave.