Your Best Life Later

About 5 years ago, a very popular book came out called, “Your Best Life Now.” It’s basically a book of principles for living a happy and “successful” life. The message of the book is that God wants this to be the best time of your life (that is a direct quote from the book). The author says, “As you put the principles found in these pages to work today, you will begin living your best life now.”

Christians, don’t be fooled by this unbiblical philosophy. God never intended this world to be the place you have your best life now. Indeed, if you are a Christian, this is your worst life. Now, I’m not saying that this life is bad. Quite the contrary: I believe the joys of being a Christian in this world are infinitely sweeter than the fruitless joys of the godless. Indeed, I believe that American Christians are by and large not embracing all the pleasures of the Christian life.

However, compared to the next life (the eternal life purchased by Jesus Christ), this is your worst life. In this world, God has not promised riches, safety, comfort, health, and success. No, in this world God has promised that those who follow Him will experience pain, suffering, persecution, rejection, difficulty, sorrow, and even death. This life is not your best life.

As John MacArthur has said, “Your best life as a Christian begins when this life ends.” What comfort and hope floods my soul when I think about the life that awaits me in glory.

But, if you are not a Christian, this is your best life now. Because the next life will be infinitely worse in Hell. The worse possible existence imaginable is that of those who are condemned under the weight of their own sin for all eternity.

I urge you to turn from your rebellion against God and embrace Jesus Christ as your only and all-sufficient Savior (before it is too late).

If you are believing in Jesus Christ this morning, God has promised your best life later. And as sweet as this life is, the best is yet to come.