What would someone like Richard Dawkins (who has thoroughly convinced himself there is neither God nor life after death) look at my life and say? "What a waste! What a pitiful life! That guy could be use a lot rougher language, if only he believed me."
Philosophical questions about God, life, and death have real implication on how we life and how we evaluate the lives of others. 1 Corinthians 15 addreses some of the arguments about life after death, which was a divisive issue during Paul's ministry, and even during Jesus's ministry. I have been challenged by an inference from verse 19.
1 Corinthians 15: 17-19 "
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
I think that Paul and the apostles might have been pitied by some of the people they met. People who did not believe in a life beyond this one must have looked at the hardships faced by followers of The Way and shaken their heads.
What about us? Are people seeing my life (our lives) and asking, "why is he doing that?" Passages like Romans 12:2 compare the standards and the wisdom of the World to the standards and wisdom of the Kingdom. Even the briefest of glances at these passages reveal that God's Kingdom -- and those who would be in His Kingdom -- stands in striking contrast to the culture of the day. What does that look like the life of the believer today? They use "clean" language while worldly people have a potty mouth?
What I infer from 1 Corinthians 15:19 is that Paul's life looked like a ridiculous waste to those who did not believe. They pitied him. And Paul admits that if Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, they should pity him -- he would even pity himself. How are we different from the World? Are we making "pitiable" choices, or we "nice" people who are trying to live "clean." Clean-livin' is sometimes respected by non-believers.
I am not planning on telling more dirty joke or integrating more four-letter words into my daily conversations, and I don't suggest you do either. What I am suggesting is that Kingdom Living is about much, much more than just those surface issues. I would challenge you to consider the life of Paul (or anyone else that really believed Jesus was waiting to welcome him into the Kingdom with open arms) and imagine how he would live today. What is keeping you from living a life like that?
1 Corinthians 15: 59 "
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
