We all have a need to be significant. We want to matter. We have a longing to know that our life matters. We count!
If Christ is not raised, then living for Him, doing what He says, following His will is a great delusion. We should be pitied like insane people who live by hallucinations. But, since He has been raised and is alive and reigns as King forever, all our obedience, all our love, all our self-denial is not just not-to-be-pitied, but is positively enviable. Like salt makes people thirsty, we cause people to desire to life for God. Sure, we have trials and tribulations like everyone else but we know there is a reward at the end of our life.
"This slight momentary affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," Paul said (2 Corinthians 4:17).
There is in every one of us the longing that our lives be well spent—that our lives count for something, that they have significance and usefulness, that we don't come to the end of our days and say, it was all in vain, empty, pointless, useless, insignificant—pitiable.
Paul knows this. That's why he ends this whole chapter on the resurrection with the words: "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
Not in vain! That's the longing of our lives. O Lord let it not be misspent. Let me not come to my grave and say, "I've wasted it!" It does not have to be. Christ is risen and everything done in His name—by His strength and for His glory—is not in vain. It is enviable. Significant. Valuable. Eternal.
"This slight momentary affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," Paul said (2 Corinthians 4:17).
There is in every one of us the longing that our lives be well spent—that our lives count for something, that they have significance and usefulness, that we don't come to the end of our days and say, it was all in vain, empty, pointless, useless, insignificant—pitiable.
Paul knows this. That's why he ends this whole chapter on the resurrection with the words: "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
Not in vain! That's the longing of our lives. O Lord let it not be misspent. Let me not come to my grave and say, "I've wasted it!" It does not have to be. Christ is risen and everything done in His name—by His strength and for His glory—is not in vain. It is enviable. Significant. Valuable. Eternal.
We all have a longing that we shall live forever in joy. We want to know that at the end of life there is something more for us than a grave plot.
Paul says, that because Christ is raised those who have fallen asleep in Him—those who have died in faith—have not perished, or positively, they are alive. They will live forever. They live the way Christ lives. They will enter into the joy of their Master.
The greatest news in all the world is that God and His Son are most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Them.
Jesus satisfied our most deepest longings and needs. When we are satisfied in the work that Christ has done on the cross and believe in it, God and Christ are glorified.
ACTION STEP: If you are looking for significance and meaning to your life, and want to know for certainty that your life matters? Look no further than the Bible. Find out for yourself how much God loves you and how much He wants for you to live a long and satisfying life.
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