1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

There is so much truth and doctrine packed in this one chapter, it’s hard to write on any one. Paul gives so many nuggets of insight and admonition, one could teach for a long time through 1 Corinthians 15 and still have more to teach. But the underlying theme is this: One day, we will rise, as Christ did, and be forever with the Lord. In this life, we might “die daily” (vs 31). We might have times where we’re “most miserable” (vs 19). We might (and must) be like the seed, which falls to the ground, and dies (vs 36-38). We might be in jeopardy (vs 30). We might fight battles (vs 32). But in the and, and praise be to the Lord, we will rise in victory. There is victory over death. There’s victory over the grave. There’s a crown. There’s victory with Jesus Christ. We will be changed to be like Him. We will lose corruption and put on incorruption. And we will put on immortality, ever to be with the Son and the Father, where there will be rewards, and rejoicing for all of eternity.

He hits a climax in light of our lives and eternity near the end, which has taken 57 verses to build. But then Paul adds and ends it all with one verse that sums up our response to this: “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Because we know about the resurrection, and because we know about the rewards, and because we know that we will live with Him for all of eternity, and because of Christ’s example, might we give our lives 100% to this thing. Might we be “all-in”. Might we be unmovable. Might we look stedfastly toward that time in eternity. Might we be abounding – growing, fruitful, serving fully – in the work of the Lord. And we can rest assured of this: our labor is not in vain in the Lord!