In a 1909 lecture, William Jennings Bryan said: ‘Christ gave us proof of immortality, and yet it would hardly seem necessary that one should rise from the dead to convince us that the grave is not the end. If the Father deigns to touch with Divine power the cold and pulseless heart of the buried acorn and to make it burst forth into a new life, will He leave neglected in the earth the soul of man, made in the image of his Creator? If He stoops to give to the rosebud whose withered blossoms float upon the autumn breeze, the sweet assurance of another springtime, will He refuse…words of hope…when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and inanimate, though changed by the forces of nature into a multitude of forms, can never die, will the spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has paid a brief visit like a royal guest to this tenement of clay? No, I am as sure that there is another life as I am that I live today!’

Paul wrote: ‘As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better’ (v.22-23 MSG). So no matter how difficult, or how blessed, our lives are right now, the best days are still ahead, when we’ll get to experience the joy of heaven and spend eternity with God.

What Now?

Thank God that He sent His Son to provide us with proof that death isn’t the end.