Those who are in Christ will live forever in a new creation, bodily raised from the dead. The world is heading to a paradise where we will eat, drink, love, and work to the glory of God and our own joy. We get to practice for the kingdom right now by enjoying life to the fullest in light of Christ’s resurrection and triumph over death. As Russ Moore has said, “Let us eat, drink and be merry for yesterday we were dead, but today we are alive!”

Reflection
When was the first time you had to face the reality of death? How did that experience make you feel? What are some ways people try to escape death? Have you ever been tempted to use the circumstances of your life to gauge how God feels about you? Have you ever looked at someone else’s circumstances to gauge how God felt about them? (By the way, that is the textbook definition of the “judging others” that Jesus told us to avoid.) How can contemplating your own mortality cause you to enjoy life more? How does Jesus rescue us from the curse of death? What does the “abundant life” look like according to Ecclesiastes 9?