This life or the next?

1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

This verse has been stuck on my mind for over a month now. Initially it started with extremely missing my dad. Then realizing that none of us are here for good. We are all just here for a while. That’s why man is compared to the grass of the field that today is and tomorrow withers and dies and to a vapour that suddenly vanishes. It’s such a humbling thought. However, despite knowing all these things, so many people live as if they’re going to be here forever. They fight, war and compete for things that will eventually perish forsaking the greater virtues of life, love, sacrifice and forbearance.

Nothing in this world is ours, the people we love, the land we claim our own, not even our own breath. A very humbling thought. In this life, at the end, all we inherit for our lifeless body is a grave. But we have hope on the other side of this life through Christ. Those who see this bigger picture cannot conform to the ways of this world or be in a competition. We have a different destination, we are looking forward to spending eternity with Christ and hence only those things pertaining to eternity really matter. The world and its things perish.

Our perspective is what changes how we look at and live this life. We are here, not without hope, without help or without expectation. Therefore, with eternity in focus, the matters of the present world shift out of focus. We may lose everything in this life, but we know we can only gain in the next. So we strive without giving up or giving in.

My advice to humans is chase eternal things. Don’t waste time fretting over the perishable. No matter how solid it seems, one day its story will end. It could be an education, a friend, a companion, an asset or riches. When we are on our death bed and after we leave, nothing will be more cherished than our memories and good deeds. But rest assured we will leave and take nothing with us. As we come so we leave, with nothing to call our own. May we always bear this truth in our minds as we journey through this life. It will keep us humble and grounded and heaven-bound.