Living For What?
1 Corinthians 15
30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
31 I protest by that glorifying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.
33 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.
34 Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak this to move you to shame.
Focus
You cannot live in the past. You cannot live in the future. You can only live today. So, if we can only live today, how should we live today? What is to be our focus?
Do not live in the past. You cannot change the past. You can right some wrongs, make restitution, apologize, patch up broken relationships, etc. Sometimes you can repair the past, but you can’t change it. You can’t re-live it.
It is good to look back and learn, but it is not good to dwell in the past. It robs you of today.
Do not live in the future. The future is not here yet. You can’t live it till it comes. You do not know what a day may bring.
Proverbs 27
1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Matthew 6
34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
James 4
14 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
You can plan wisely, and you should. But the future you envision today may change tomorrow. What you dream today may never come to pass.
It is good to plan wisely, but don’t write it in stone. It may never happen, and then you have wasted the present.
So, the natural conclusion is to live for today. But is that it? Just take each day as it comes and do whatever? I think not!
Yes, we should live in the moment. You cannot live any time but the time you have right now. I certainly believe in making the most of the moment.
Live each moment as if it were you last. Be alive! Be alert! Be aware! Live in the moment, and live in the moment. But do not live for the moment. If you live only for the moment, you next moment will pay for this moment. Your next moment will reap the result or consequence of this moment.
So, what do we live for? Live for the resurrection! Live for eternity! If there is no resurrection, then now is all we have and all we’re ever guaranteed. So, in that case, "eat drink and be merry", because when you’re dead it’s all over. If there is no resurrection, then enjoy the moment with no thought of the consequences. The worse that can happen is that you die and it’s over. If there is no resurrection, then there is no real meaning in life except to enjoy the moment.
But, there is a resurrection! And in the resurrection you are raised to eternal life or eternal punishment.
John 5
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice,
29 and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
Are you living in the light of eternity? Are you living in the light of a future judgment? Remember, what you do today you will pay for tomorrow. And if you die before tomorrow, you will pay in the resurrection – in the future judgment.
Daily living?
Paul had an interesting philosophy of life. He says here, "I die daily".
What does he mean? He means every day he gives up his life to a higher cause. Every day he lays down his life and takes up Christ’s. He means he no longer lives for himself. Every day he invests his life in something greater than himself.
Galatians 2
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
What is the purpose of life? Is it just to enjoy? If so, then cast off all care, all restraint, and give it all you’ve got. Have fun while you can.
The Bible tells us that there is a purpose in life.
Ecclesiastes 12
13. This is the conclusion of the matter; . . . fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
Micah 6
8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
What are you living for? What will be the outcome of your life? What will they say about you when you gone? Even more importantly, what will God say to you when you stand before Him?
Romans 14
10 But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.
2Corinthians 5
10 For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
Hebrews 9
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this [cometh] judgment;
Hebrews 10
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.
Let me pose these questions:
If you died today, would you be satisfied with your life?
If you died today, would you go to heaven?
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you change today?