Is This All There Is?

Have you ever stopped and wondered, “Is this all there is?”

All the hurrying and scurrying. The constant chasing. The quiet dissatisfaction that lingers no matter what we do.

If we are honest, most of us have asked that question. And not just once.

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes puts it plainly: “Everything is meaningless… a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Sit with that for a moment.

It sure can feel like that, eh?

The Story We’ve Been Told

Some of us look for answers in different pursuits or belief systems. Some promise purpose. Others say there is none.

I am not trying to explore all those options here. I want to speak to those of us who believe Jesus is the answer, and who have been told that the goal of that faith is to reach heaven and leave this world behind.

Has that been the story for you?

That one day we will finally escape all of this?

Like the old spiritual says:

Some glad morning, when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away…

For much of my Christian life, I believed that. I was taught that God has a place prepared for us in heaven, and that one day we will leave this world behind and live with him there forever.

I am coming to believe that this is not quite right.

What Scripture Actually Promises

Let me be clear. I have not lost faith. If anything, I am becoming more convinced of the Christian hope, not less.

Scripture does teach that when we die, we are with Jesus. Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul says that to be “away from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

That is real comfort.

But it is not the end of the story.

Why the Resurrection Matters

Which brings us back to the question: Is this all there is?

If the goal is simply to leave this world behind, it becomes hard to see why any of this matters. And it raises another question:

What was the point of the resurrection?

If God’s plan was to take us away, why did Jesus rise bodily from the dead?

The resurrection tells us something important.

God is not abandoning his creation. He is redeeming it.

Jesus’ resurrection is not an escape from the world, but the beginning of its renewal. As Paul says, Christ is “the firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20). What happened to him is a preview of what God intends to do for his people, and for creation itself.

Not Escape, but Renewal

The Christian hope is not that we leave this world behind, but that God will make it new.

Revelation gives us a picture of that future: “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them” (Revelation 21:3). There is a new heaven and a new earth. Not an escape from creation, but its restoration.

This helps us make sense of Jesus’ words that he came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

Why This Matters Now

And yet, if we are honest, that life can feel far away.

We age. We struggle. Relationships remain complicated. The world still feels broken. Loneliness, injustice, and suffering are not hard to find.

It is no wonder that an “escape to heaven” view is appealing.

But Scripture points us somewhere deeper.

From the beginning, humanity was created for relationship with God (Genesis 1:26–27). The problem is not that creation exists, but that it is broken. And God has not given up on it.

In Christ, he has begun putting things right.

The Hope Ahead

So when we ask, “Is this all there is?”, the answer is no.

There is more. Not less than this world, but more than it has yet become.

We will be with Jesus when we die. That is our comfort. But that is not where the story ends.

We will be raised, as he was raised (1 Corinthians 15:42–44).

We do not know exactly what those resurrection bodies will be like, but we know they will be whole, free from decay, and fit for the life God has prepared.

A life not in this present broken world, and not in a purely spiritual existence, but in the new creation God has promised.

God will dwell with us, and we with him. We will know him as we are known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Living in That Hope

This gives us hope, not just for the future, but for today.

When the days are long and the work is heavy, when we feel worn down, we are not left without help. We can turn to God in prayer, trusting his promises in Christ.

Because this is not all there is.

God is at work. And one day heaven and earth will be made one.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come.