Kick the Bucket List

"If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”" 1 Corinthians 15:32

Have you ever been trying to go the speed limit, but get passed by somebody who is too impatient to obey the traffic laws? If you have experienced this, maybe you have also noticed that often times these people are waiting for you when you get to the traffic signal. All of their impatience didn't really gain them much advantage other than to be the first to have to stop at the signal. Sometimes, when I get passed, I like to say, "See you at the stop light." How many people live their lives in the same manner in which these impatient drivers operate their vehicles? You will hear people say things like, "Live life to the fullest," or they will create a, so called, "Bucket List," comprised of all the the things they want to accomplish before they die. In fact, another name for Bucket List is just that; Things to do before you die. Some of the more popular Bucket List items are: take a road trip across America, hike the Appalachian Trail, walk the Great Wall of China, attend Mardi Gras, skydive, go on an African Safari, see the Northern Lights and visit the Holy Land. The list is endless and is altered to suit the tastes of each individual. In general, there is nothing wrong with wanting to explore the wonders of this world created by God. In fact, I know people who have experienced some of the things I just mentioned. However, there is more to life than being in a hurry to explore the wonders of this world created by God before you die. There have even been occasions where someone has died tragically pursuing these types of experiences, usually at a young age, and people will try to make sense of it by saying, "At least they died doing what they enjoyed." It is difficult for me to believe these people were enjoying themselves at the moment they died. But, regardless, when a person lives their life from one experience to the next, their motivation can be summed by the saying, "You only live once."  From a physical standpoint, that saying is correct. At the time I am writing this, the average lifespan of a human being is 79  years. Depending on how well a person takes care of themselves and avoids tragedy, that is not a long time to complete that "List." However, from a spiritual standpoint, you live for an eternity. Therefore, from that perspective, the average person has 79 years, not to "live life to its fullest" and complete that "bucket list," but to decide where do they want to spend eternity.

Near the end of his first letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul is in the midst of discussing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is, basically, saying that if Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead, then why am I risking my life for "human hopes"? He says it would be better just to "eat and drink" instead because life is short. In other words, rather than risking my life for the causes of man, I might as well just live my life to the fullest and spend my time trying to check off the boxes on my bucket list because there is nothing waiting for me on the other side of death. But, Paul had his eyes set on the spiritual and not the physical. In fact, he once stated. "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:23-24)."  Paul was convinced that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, therefore, he desired to "depart and be with Christ," in heaven. But, he also had a desire to continue being a vessel for the work of the Lord here on earth. While I am sure the pleasures of this world were a temptation to Paul, just like they are to all of us, Paul knew that something better was promised to him. He wrote, "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him ... (1 Corinthians 2:9)" Anything on a, so-called, Bucket List, has been seen, heard of or conceived by man. One can't imagine what God has in store for His children. Furthermore, God has said, "See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind (Isaiah 65:17)." Think back for a moment at the items on that list of things to do before you die. Things like seeing the Northern Lights, walking along the Great Wall of China, visiting the Holy Land, etc. These are all apart of what will come to be known as the "former things."  What we spend our lives trying to experience will not even be remembered or come to mind when God reveals His new heavens and new earth. That is why Paul focused on the things of the Lord and not the things of this world. Jesus said, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (Mark 8:36)?" Dare I ask, "What good is it for someone to experience the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" If we only have 79 years to live on this earth, on average, why spend them trying to achieve the next experience in a world that will soon pass away, when God has promised those who place faith in Christ indescribably better things in heaven? Because Jesus has risen, Christians will go to be with Him one day. My prayer is that more people will come to faith in Christ, put off the pursuit of worldly experiences and be like minded with Paul when he said, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)."