So, will it be with the resurrection of the dead? The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
A bright fifteen-year-old girl was suddenly cast upon a bed of suffering, completely paralyzed on one side and nearly blind. She heard the family doctor say to her parents as they stood by the bedside: “She has seen her best days, poor child!” “No, doctor,” she exclaimed, “my best days are yet to come when I shall see the King in His beauty.”
As we get older, we may be tempted to assume our best days are behind us. For some of us, sickness in our bodies, pain in our joints, and sadness in our hearts because of a lost loved one can rob us of Jesus’ joy and make us feel that our best days are behind us. Perhaps you are tired of chemotherapy, surgeries, and weekly dialysis. Or maybe, you see a picture of you in your teens or twenties when you look Sprite and youthful and wonder what happened to that person.
Whenever I look at a picture of my mother holding me in her arms when I was a little boy with long braided hair, I feel like I have seen my best days. Yet in today’s text, we are reminded our best days are yet to come. This audacity of hope comes from our faith in the resurrected Christ. Indeed, because of the resurrection, we trust the life that is to come for those who are in Christ Jesus will far exceed anything on earth.
The day will come when all pain and suffering will be over. Death and diseases will be no more. No longer will we have to worry about racism and mass shootings. Our perishable bodies will be made imperishable. Hunger, pestilence, and all other forms of natural disasters will be no more.
I can only imagine what it will be like when I stand in the city paved with gold where the presence of God saturates the atmosphere. What everlasting joy I will experience; nothing on earth can scarcely compare to it. Therefore, let us press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Our best days, best experiences, best fellowships, best health, or happiest joy are still to come. Let us not grow weary in well doing for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. The Lord has great riches and rewards reserved for those who persevere to the end.
Questions for Personal Reflection
How does the Christian faith help us deal with death?
How do you manage the feeling that your best days are behind you?
Prayer- Blessed Lord, I thank you for the promise of eternal life. Please help me to press toward the goal to win the prize knowing that my best days are ahead of me.
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