I Corinthians 15:22
I use to read a column in a local newspaper that was titled, “A life lived.” It was an obituary that highlighted the life and times of one particular person from the area. In some cases it told of the person’s world travels and the academic and business success they enjoyed. Other times it told the story of the deceased’s love for a particular sports team or their dedication to a company who they worked for year after year. Surviving family members in most cases were listed. A common theme was past glories were revisited and shared with the readers. There is nothing wrong with success and accomplishments. There is no sin in having a favorite sports team that you root for. But when we draw our last breath, if our whole life is based on these things and these things alone we have missed what real life is about.
Faded glory is no foundation for a life to be built upon. Our verse today says, “For as in Adam all die.” A Christless life is empty and hopeless. I know I lived such a life year after year. Contentment will never be found in that which is fleeting. Those who are still in Adam live life backwards. The best of life is behind them. Beauty is fading; strength is not what it once was; youth is slipping away year after year and so they live in the rear-view mirror and too many of their sentences begin with, “I remember when.” You can see the despair in their faces. They are trying to make a life in one where no spiritual life is found, Adam. If you are born once, you will one day wish you had never been born at all.
Our verse teaches us, “In Christ shall all be made alive.” True living is not the mark we make in this world apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is when one is born again (See John 3:3) and lives their life for the glory of Lord Jesus Christ. That will be the best life- A life lived.