Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that, in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. (1 Co 15:58)
The context of this verse is “the resurrection of the dead.” Paul was talking about the resurrection of the dead; that there is a resurrection from the dead, that you and I will rise from the dead, that our earthly life is not all there is, that the end of 60, 70, 90, a hundred years of your life is not the end of our existence. Therefore, we can, and we ought to live our lives in light of eternity in light of this hope. In other words, we have more light than the person who doesn’t have this hope of eternal life. When you have more light, you know your bearings better, you find your way better, and you avoid falling into pits, traps and off cliffs!
On the other hand, because we see something that other people can’t see, we don’t make sense to them. Our choices, the way we live our life doesn’t make sense to the people around you. They would think you are stupid, and that you’re wasting your life. And they are, at least, partly right. We’re actually commanded to waste our life. “Whoever finds his life (said Jesus) will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt 10:39). That’s just a part of being in the kingdom of God, the Kingdom of opposites. You go high by going low; you find your life by losing it! The kingdom of God has to be the kingdom of opposites because the world is turned upside down. So, if someone concerned about your mental health tells you “You’re wasting your life”… say: “Thank you for your affirmation, that’s exactly what I want to do; waste my life for Jesus, and by doing that I’m finding true life… I’m finding meaning and purpose for my life.”
So, I beseech each one of us to continue to be the idiot for Jesus he or she is and to continue wasting your life for His sake and the sake of His Gospel, because this is what truly means to be alive…. And I can’t find better words to encourage you than the same verse I started with.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that, in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. (1 Co 15:58)