1 Corinthians 15:12-19

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” NRSV

I just finished reading an article about the difficulties that Mexican citizens, here illegally, have when one of their own dies. They are absorbed with the death rituals, wanting the body returned to Mexico for mourning, for burial. In America, the mortuary business is a multi-million dollar business. Did you know that you can have your body embalmed and placed in a casket where years from now there will be very little decay?

What’s the point?

Paul is right. Either Christ resurrected from the dead and we have hope, or there is no point. Either there is life after this (life that, as a Christian, is far better than the struggles we have here), or there is no point.

And if there is a resurrection, if there is a life in heaven, then we need to give up all of the “stuff” that we hang onto, particularly the unforgiveness, the bitterness, the desire for revenge. Either there is the hope of heaven (and the nothing else matters), or there is no heaven and we can try and even the score here on earth. Either we will one day see the face of our blessed Savior, or we can focus on trying to make this world right under our own power.

The only thing that matters is Him. And the reason it matters is because He loved us (and loves us) enough to die for us, to be resurrected, and to give us the hope of a future with Him.

Think about it. Everything hinges on whether or not we have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him! It makes everything else seem so small, so unimportant . . .