Evidently the Corinthians lived with a worldview that is not new to our contemporary culture: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we will die” (1 Corinthians 15:32-33). Since they dismissed the resurrection and the possibility of life after death, they, like many people today, determined to live for the moment regardless of the consequences. I could describe several elements of this worldview and discuss how seeking success and living for pleasure can leave one with a hollow, empty feeling. But I think its even more simple than that. At the end of it all is self. If there is no tomorrow, then I have an unparalleled responsibility to me, myself, and I.
Paul argues strongly that this kind of thinking is wrong-headed and dangerous. The resurrection reorders our worldview to a position that acknowledges that while there may not be a tomorrow, there is an eternity. What we do and how we live matters, because we’re not living for today, we’re living in light of eternity. Life is not about me. It’s about God and others.
Because we are eternal beings we have an accountability to God for our lives. We have received life as a precious gift from God, so our lives are not our own to do with as we please. We have a stewardship over the gift that God has entrusted to us. This reality drives us to move past our ambitions for self and success and to pursue eternally significant endeavors. Each day is energized with countless new possibilities to make an impact on the lives of others for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We have been given a life that is blessed to be a blessing to the world. There may not be a tomorrow. But there is an eternity, and that pursuit is worthy of our greatest allegiance and effort.