Do I live as if this is all there is?

1 Corinthians 15:19  "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Paul is speaking to the believers in Corinth, some of whom had begun to question or doubt the resurrection of the dead.  Paul argues that we can be assured of this eventuality for believers because of the fact that Christ rose from the dead.  He says that if the resurrection of Christ is false, then the promise of our own resurrection is false.  If there is no resurrection and eternal life, then this life on earth is all we have and all that there is. 

If earthly life is all there is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is reduced to a set of rules for living life on earth.  This is no different than the law that was in place before Jesus.  The whole Gospel message crumbles if this were to be true.  Our priorities and our perspective change very drastically if we have no hope of anything beyond life on earth. 

Later in this chapter, Paul quotes from Isaiah 22:13, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  Many people live in strict accordance with this motto.  There are many wonderful things to experience in this life, and they are gifts from God.  But what if this was really all there was?  I think it is important to ask ourselves, "Do my life and my actions convey that I believe there is more than just what is to be grasped and experienced here on earth?"  Said another way, "Do I live as if the Gospel is true or false?"  I think this is a worthy litmus test to use on our daily decisions and how we live our lives in general.