It is about hope. The quality of your life, the joy you experience nearly always comes down to your confidence that the future will be good. ( Where have we learned fear? Not from God!) In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul says that Christ is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Without any uncertainty, he claims that what happened to Christ (the resurrection) will also happen to us. He went first. We all follow. Unexpectedly, the benefit of this exciting future event is experienced in the present. Looking forward to the resurrection brings calm, clear courage to the heart of the believer. What we have now is not all we ever will. Who we are now is not all we will ever be. God pours His strength into our hearts by teaching us to reflect on this hope. “The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised, and we will all be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52) I feel better already! You?
I sometimes can’t help but wonder, “How can I keep from wondering, ‘How many more times will I have to mow my lawn? Clean out my rain gutters? Get the oil in my car changed? Pay my utility bills?'” I’m glad I don’t know. Because surely I am being spared from knowing things I would not want to know.
Thank you for your daily insight.