It's a Pitiful Life, part 2

If the resurrection is a lie, Christians are pathetic. If this life is all we’ve got, Christianity is worse than false; it’s tragic. “If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world” (1 Cor 15:19 NLT). Why would Paul say that? Doesn’t he know that Jesus offers peace, joy, meaning, prosperity, and everything else that makes up your best life now? Apparently not.

Now if there is no resurrection… why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers…. If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  1 Cor 15:29-32 NIV

Notice what made Paul’s life so pitiable: he endangered himself every hour and died every day. Why? Apparently because he believed in the resurrection. Because Paul believed in life after death, he willingly chose suffering and self-denial rather than ease and pleasure—“eat[ing] and drink[ing], for tomorrow we die.” (cf. also Phil 3:7-11; Col 1:24)

So here’s our answer: the Christian life is pitiful without the resurrection because it’s supposed to be a life of chosen suffering and self-denial. Paul didn’t see his Christianity as the key to physical comforts and pleasures in this life. Instead, he saw it as a call to suffer—the type of life that would have been utterly foolish and pitiable if there were no resurrection into the joyful presence of Christ.

Think about it for yourself. Would the lifestyle you have chosen as a Christian be utterly foolish if there is no resurrection? Would the suffering and self-denial you have freely chosen for the cause of Christ be pathetic if you don’t actually get to heaven when you die?