I 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.
Do you ever wonder why people do the crazy things they do? We are living in a day when people do crazy things in order to gain attention. But since everyone seems to be crazy these days, it doesn’t even seem to stand out! People pierce their eyebrows or their nose. Why do they do that? Well, it may be a tribal thing, to be part of a group. Why do people embezzle funds and run off with the company’s money? Why do people run off with someone else’s spouse? What is the purpose of these things?
Years ago, before a mountain climber named George Mallory disappeared in his attempt to summit the tallest peak in the world, Mt. Everest, he was on tour in the United States. He was asked, “Why are you going to attempt to climb the highest mountain in the world?” Mallory famously replied, “Because it is there.” As humans we have ambitions. We have a drive to be somebody or to do something. That is not entirely wrong, but one of the reasons that people do the crazy things they do is to fill that void.
In I Corinthians 15:32 Paul says, “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.” He says, “If there is no resurrection of Jesus Christ and thus of the saints who trust in Him, if this is the only life we have, then why am I going through all the jeopardy of giving the gospel?” Earlier he said, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain…we are of all men most miserable.”
The whole point of I Corinthians 15 is that Christ is risen, and because He has we will. If you are in Christ Jesus, you don’t need to try to fill a void that only Jesus Himself can fill. It may be somewhat of a church cliché to say that people have a God-shaped void that only God can fill, but that statement is absolutely the truth!
I Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Your labor is not empty or a void. In other words, our lives can be full because of what is empty. What is empty? Jesus’ tomb is empty. What is full? Our lives are full, not because of how much money we have or because of the things with which we amuse ourselves in order to forget about tomorrow. Our lives are full because of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He prepares us for tomorrow, the day after that, and the eternity beyond.
Today, I don’t need to do crazy things merely to fill some void. Jesus Christ has filled my heart by vacating that tomb.