Journeying Towards The Eternal
BRD REFLECTION 2026
1 Corinthians 15:35-49 and Psalm 25:8-15 (NIV)
(Yeo Su Chen from Communications Ministry)
READ:
Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, paying special attention to verses 42-44.
OBSERVE:
In this passage, Paul addresses the most difficult aspect of our humanity: our frailty and finiteness. He doesn’t sugarcoat the perishable nature of our physical existence. Just as a seed must yield to the soil to become a plant, our physical and earthly struggles are not the end of the story. Because of Christ’s work on the Cross, the decay of the “natural” body is not the end, but a transition into the spiritual and imperishable.
Over the past year, I have experienced this perishability firsthand as I went through an elective surgery and a subsequent emergency surgery. I am also spending time with a dear friend who is battling illness. Reflecting on our lives, my friend and I have processed the deepest questions of life and death including eternity, our salvation, regrets, unfulfilled hopes, and worries about our children.
My experiences with my own health and conversations with my friend have also set me thinking: From the moment we are born, we are moving toward our death. There is no escape. Yet, amid the weakness that illness brings to the physical body, there is hope in the spiritual body.
APPLY:
To find hope in Christ while facing the reality of my perishable nature, I must focus on:
Accepting the “Sowing” Seasons: Understanding that periods of struggle or “burial” are often the necessary start of a new growth phase.
Living My Life with an Eternal Perspective: Choosing to invest in imperishable things (kindness, faith) rather than the perishable things of this world (material comfort).
Embracing Vulnerability: Not hiding from the weakness of life but using it as a space to process regrets and hopes with God and trusted friends, and continuing to anchor myself to the Lord to seek His help in growing in my faith.
Looking Beyond the Physical: Recognising that while my earthly physical body may be under attack, the “born again” spirit is being renewed and prepared for an eternal glory that no illness, even terminal cancer, can touch.
Anchoring in the Cross: Remembering that Christ’s death was the ultimate “sowing” that made our “raising” possible.
DO:
I will:
Continue to Journey Well: I will work on my own spiritual life by God’s grace and with His help. I will fix my eyes on Him by drawing strength and lessons from His Word.
Surrender the Fear of Mortality: I will acknowledge that while death is a certainty, it is also a transformation. I will choose to trust God with my outcomes and my timeline.
Invest in the Eternal: Each day, I will ask: “Am I feeding the perishable ego or the imperishable spirit?” I will dedicate time to spiritual renewal through prayer and Scripture to strengthen the spiritual body that is being formed in me.
PRAY:
Lord, thank You for the hope of the resurrection. My heart breaks for the suffering and the weakness I see in this world. Yet, I thank You that You have given us a renewed eternal life because of the redemption we have through Your blood sacrificed on the Cross. Teach me to live as Your child who is “born again” into a hope that never fades. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
