In Willard Motley’s 1947 book Knock on Any Door, the hero Nick Romano says, “Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse.” This one phrase connected with people so deeply that it has become a sort of motto for the culture.

It is enticing, I have to say. If death is the end, isn’t it logical to live life to the absolute fullest while you are here, even if that life is foreshortened in doing so? Some have decided that it’s better than a plodding life of striving and planning for an uncertain future.

God sent Jesus to teach us about a better option. Because of His sacrifice, we can choose a future that is certain. We can choose not just life, but life eternal.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭58‬, ‭CSB‬‬)

When I believe there is a new life after death, suddenly this current life matters. It matters how I spend it. My goals are no longer about here and now. My goals are about then and there, spending eternity with the Creator of all that is beautiful.

What can I do today to please God? How I spend my days now will be rewarded in that new life. It doesn’t matter if I’m lauded, or even noticed, for work that I do to improve this world or the lives of others. My labor for good, for God, is never in vain.

Dear God, thank you for teaching me about my future with you. I look forward to it very much. In the meantime, show me how to spend my day productively doing your work.