The End Is Not Near
50. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
52. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
53. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54. Then, when your dying bodies have been trans-formed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55
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How do you feel about the future? If you asked your neighbors that question, what do you think they would say?
Floods, earthquakes, and fires have devastated certain parts of our country and the world. Add to that the crumbling economies and civil unrest in the third world, plus increased crime rates and pollution in the West, and you have one big world mess. In light of all this, the future does not look too bright.
For those who do not know Christ, the future looks even more bleak. For Christians, however, the future holds a great deal of hope. In this reading, Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to anchor their lives in the hope of eternal life, promised by God and won by Jesus Christ. Read and be encouraged. Find your hope in Christ.
Did you know that Christians have great hope for the future? Someday all believers will be given new bodies. Eternal life in heaven with God will cancel out death and give us a joyful, permanent home with God far better than anything we could experience here. Nothing we do for God goes unnoticed—none of it is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).
No nuclear threat, no biological menace, no political coup, no financial collapse can undo our hope for the future. Despite the worldly problems we face each day, God has a plan for us and is in control of everything.
Do not despair. No matter what the headlines say, keep your eternal future in view and keep on doing the will of God.
