Highlighted Text: 1 Cor. 15:19
Full Text: Job 29; 1 Cor. 15

Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneurs sacrifice a lot to accomplish a greater goal. Many leave successful careers in well-established companies, steady incomes and bonuses, and large staffs that care for all the incidentals of running a business. As a result, entrepreneurs usually live modestly – spending their money and time far more strategically and deliberately than they did before. Of course, in their minds, all the sacrifices are worth it because they have a goal in mind – to make their startup successful. They think, “It won’t always be this way. I will sow the sacrifices now so that I can reap the benefits later.”

Christians | Like entrepreneurs, Christians don’t live for today; we live for tomorrow. Our goal is great – to make much of Christ in the only life that we have. We live modestly because we know that our treasures are in heaven and we spend our time strategically because we know that our lives are short and precious. We think, “It won’t always be this way. We’ll sow the sacrifices now so that we can reap the rewards later.”

Success | In both cases, however, there is a harsh reality – that the worth of our sacrifice depends on the reality of our success.  As Paul wrote, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” [1]. Entrepreneurs and Christians alike pour out blood, sweat and tears into realizing their goal. Yet our ventures cannot be based solely on passion; they must be based on truth. If the startup venture fails, then we pity the entrepreneur. If the biblical portrait of Jesus isn’t true, then we pity the Christian. Why? Because both of them sacrificed so much for nothing.

Prayer | Lord, Many generations have gone before us and have been commended for their faith – yet none of them received what had been promised [2]. Together with them, we live by a faith that looks to the life that is to come. Although we cannot yet see it with our eyes, we thank you for the person of Jesus – who came to live on earth in human form, who bled and died in a mortal body, and who rose again for hundreds to bear witness to his resurrection. Therefore, let us give ourselves to the study of Jesus and to the passionate pursuit of his love. For our best life is later, not today. Amen.

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Footnotes

[1] 1 Cor. 15:19  |  [2] Heb. 11:39