1 Corinthians 15:29-34: a reflection

29Or else what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead? 30Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 31I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” 34Wake up righteously and don’t sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Paul argues that the resurrection of the dead makes all the difference to how we live. If the dead are not raised, he says, then there is nothing to live for beyond this life, and the motto might as well be: Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. If this life is all there is, then live for present pleasure, for nothing lasts. But because the dead are raised, because there is a resurrection and a life beyond, our present lives and labors are not in vain; they matter, and are worth living purposefully, not merely for passing pleasure.

Notice the difference the resurrection makes to how we live. If there were no resurrection, no life beyond, then this life would be all, and living for present pleasure would make a kind of sense: eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. But there is a resurrection; there is a life beyond, and what we do now is not swallowed up by death. And so our present lives matter, our labors are not in vain, and we are freed to live for more than passing pleasure, in light of the life to come. The resurrection gives our present lives lasting meaning.

That is worth taking to heart, for the way we live is shaped by whether we believe there is a life beyond. If we live as though this life were all, we will live for present pleasure and comfort, as though nothing lasted; but the resurrection means our lives and labors are not in vain, and gives them lasting meaning. Do not live as though this life were all, spending yourself on present pleasure as though nothing lasted; live in light of the resurrection, which gives your present life and labor lasting meaning. Because the dead are raised, your life now matters and is not in vain; live it purposefully, for more than passing pleasure, in light of the life to come, rather than as though this life were all and the only wisdom were to eat and drink before tomorrow's death. The resurrection gives your present life lasting meaning; live accordingly.

Lord, Paul argues that the resurrection of the dead makes all the difference to how we live. If the dead are not raised, he says, then there is nothing to live for beyond this life, and the motto might as well be: let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. But because the dead are raised, because there is a resurrection and a life beyond, our present lives and labors are not in vain; they matter, and are worth living purposefully. Show me the difference the resurrection makes to how I live. If there were no resurrection, then this life would be all, and living for present pleasure would make a kind of sense. But there is a resurrection; there is a life beyond, and what I do now is not swallowed up by death. And so my present life matters, my labors are not in vain, and I am freed to live for more than passing pleasure. The resurrection gives my present life lasting meaning. Take that to my heart, for the way I live is shaped by whether I believe there is a life beyond. If I live as though this life were all, I will live for present pleasure and comfort; but the resurrection means my life and labors are not in vain. Keep me from living as though this life were all, spending myself on present pleasure as though nothing lasted; help me live in light of the resurrection, which gives my present life lasting meaning. Because the dead are raised, my life now matters and is not in vain; help me live it purposefully, Lord, for more than passing pleasure, in light of the life to come.