Toddlers are not generally known for their ability to delay gratification.  There is no incentive for them to do so, when a little loud screaming does the trick.  The lack of motivation, may explain the lack of inclination.  The question is, as they grow older (note that I did not say, “as they mature…”) do the adolescents and adults into which they grow, do a good deal better?

They should.  Even the least patient among us can see rather steep social downsides to voicing one’s every need and desire at the top of one’s lungs and sobbing until one gets what one wants.   Yet, the difficulty with patience and the reason why it has never been a very popular virtue, is that the present is well known, whereas the contours of the future are swaddled in chance and shrouded in uncertainty.

The calculus of the average two-year-old may be instructive here.  From outward appearances, it would seem to go something like this: ‘I like ice cream.  I want ice cream now.  If I demand it immediately, there’s a good chance I’ll get it.  If I do not get it right away, I will be no worse off than I am at this moment.  Therefore, I have little to lose by making a scene…Whereas, if I agree to wait for ice cream, it could melt or be eaten by somebody else.  Then, I’ll get no ice cream at all.  Best to start yelling.’

Like the promise of ice cream after mealtime if one eats one’s vegetables, the Christian faith has been dismissively derided as, “pie in the sky, in the sweet ‘by and by’”—an acknowledgement of the fact that any serious attempt to live the Christian life is fraught with challenges, involves self-effacement and self-sacrifice, and comes with real burdens and duties of care for others. Martyrdom may even be required.  It is also a pointed reference to the fact that rewards are somewhat vaguely described in scripture, as are the nature and precise timing of the afterlife in which they’ll eventually be conferred.

To some in the church at Corinth, the cost/benefit ratio must have seemed out of balance.  The trade-off between the ‘here & now’ and the ‘there & then’ was heavily weighted toward the future.  To address this issue, the Apostle Paul took them back to basics, to the gospel by which they’d initially come to faith:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain [physically alive] unto this present, but some are fallen asleep [in Christ—i.e. have physically died].  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also…”  (I Corinthians 15:1-8, emphasis added)

The message?  In proof of His death, Jesus was buried.  In proof of the effectiveness of His sacrifice in our place, Jesus rose again on the third day.  In proof of His resurrection, Jesus was seen alive on numerous occasions, including a public appearance to over 500 eyewitnesses at once, the vast majority of whom were still around to testify, should anyone doubt.  In proof of God’s reality and the truth of His word, the scriptures had predicted all of this in detail and in writing.  Therefore, have faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior from bondage to sin and the fear of death, as well as from eternal punishment in hell.  You may safely entrust all that you are and all that you have to Him, as Lord of your life.

Apparently, some of those in the Corinthian Church did doubt, which Paul found perplexing.  So, he made an effort to awaken their reasoning, stepping them through the implications of their unbelief (I Corinthians 15:12-19): “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you [in the church at Corinth] that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then…”

1. “…is Christ not risen:”
2. ”And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain [empty, worthless]…” 
3. “…and your faith is also vain.“
4. ”Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.”
5. “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:” 
6. “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
7. ^“Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 

Paul summarized his argument this way:“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”  What did this statement mean?  It meant that if Jesus were still in the grave, all of the promises of future glory and blessing for the followers of Christ were false hopes, mere pipedreams.  It meant that Christ’s disciples were fools who had been duped into giving up everything, only to be left chasing the wind.  It meant that they had endured ostracism, hardship, and persecution, for nothing. 

It meant that Christ was a fraud, a charlatan, and a heartless deceiver.  It meant that their holy scriptures were at best wrong and at worst, deliberate forgeries.  It meant that if there was a God, He was a liar, a fiend, and a villain.  It meant that forgiveness of sins and eternity in the presence of a loving God were off the table—just sick jokes.  It also meant that those whom they had won to Christ were as lost and as doomed as His dishonest or delusional evangelists, missionaries, and apostles themselves.

But Jesus isn’t in the grave.  Jesus is alive.  That means that there is a flipside to Paul’s axiom that, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”  Simply stated, it is: “If in the next life only we have fellowship with Christ, we are of all men most misguided.”

Paul understood this well, for it is he who famously said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11)

It’s a shame that a man of Paul’s intellect could be so lacking in imagination that he couldn’t seem to picture earth’s future King, without seeing the benefits of knowing Jesus now, such as:

• His selfless and steadfast love (John 15:9, Romans 8:38-39)
• His constant compassion (Matthew 9:36)
• His precious friendship (John 15:15)
• His full and lasting joy (John 15:11)
• His gift of peace that transcends all understanding (John 14:27, Philippians 4:7)
• His righteousness and its fruits (Philippians 1:11)
• His invitation to abide in Him, and He in us (John 15:4)
• His consolation through the Comforter—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18, 15:26)
• His identity as the way, the truth, and the life—the only path to the Father (John 14:6)
• His intercession for His own (John 17:9)
• His majestic glory, freely shared with believers (John 17:22, Colossians 3:4)
• His position as Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18)
• His indwelling in the hearts of His followers (Colossians 1:27)
• His pure and perfect mind (Philippians 2:5)
• His hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3)
• His personal example (John 13:15, I Peter 2:21, Colossians 2:6)
• His presence, real though invisible…for now (Matthew 28:20)
• His all-sufficient grace for daily living (II Corinthians 12:9)
• His Lordship and preeminence (Acts 2:36)
• His gospel—the power of God unto salvation to those who believe (Romans 1:16)

As spectacular as this incomplete list is, the blessings of fellowship and intimacy with Christ in the ‘here & now’ will never equal, much less surpass those of His everlasting kingdom in the ‘there & then’ of heaven.  Yet there is no denying that each and every one of these temporal benefits to believers is inextricably linked to the eternal fulfillments of God’s long-term promises.  There is no reason why Christians should not explore and celebrate the one while awaiting the other.  No one who does this will consider it time wasted.  The earthly journey with Jesus will be infinitely satisfying and a wonderful prelude to Christ’s return to rule and reign.

It should be abundantly clear by now that there is much more to life with God than commandments and the promise of escape from death and hell. Christians can be of enormous help to the unsure and the hesitant to believe, as well as to fellow believers who are new or struggling, by modeling this life, showing what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and candidly sharing their experiences as His followers.  One must, after all, meet Jesus, and get to know Jesus, before coming to love and trust Him.  I pray God the Father will show us how to be useful to Him, as He daily draws people to His Son. If He is drawing you right now, and you desire to follow Christ, read on.

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)