In the above text, Jesus used Old Testament scripture to teach the resurrection of the dead. Scripture corroborates Jesus teaching that at the end of this age all will be resurrected and stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Revelation 20). This means that everyone will give an account of his or her life before the Creator. Consequently, individual choices in life are important and should be strategically made given the reality of personal accountability to the Creator.

Each person lives in the physical realm for a short period of time (usually less than one hundred years) and then dies. Physical death is a consequence of sin. All are under this judgment because of the original sin of Adam and Eve. But physical death is not the end; all will be resurrected to give an account to their Creator and to receive the consequences for their life choices.

A life well lived is pleasing to the Creator. From a Christian worldview, there is only one way to live well in God’s universe, that is, as a Christian. A Christian is one who has received the grace of Christ and been saved. This reality is validated by growth in his or her ability to live under the Lordship of Christ as evidenced by maturing in the capacity to live and love like Jesus (1 John 2:3─6).

The context for life is the metanarrative. God is executing a redemptive metanarrative that began with the fall of man (Genesis 3:15). At Creation, God’s sovereign rule was uncontested. When the first humans, Adam and Eve, sinned, they contested God’s sovereign rule over his creation. The consequence of their sin was immediate spiritual death but not immediate physical death or eternal death. Instead, God expressed his love and mercy to them and their heirs (us) by deferring the final judgments for sin—physical death and eternal death. This enabled Adam and Eve to reproduce. And, because of the principle of reproduction after kind, each human is born with the fallen nature of Adam and Eve.

Since the fall of man, God, at his sovereign pleasure, has allowed fallen mankind to live in his creation until each human dies physically. And after physical death is final judgment (Hebrews 9:27). At that time, all humans will give an account of their lives before God. Those whose names are not in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (eternal death) (Revelation 20:15), and the uncontested rule of Christ will be restored (Philippians 2:10). This will be the end of the metanarrative.

All humans live in the metanarrative. To live wisely, one must align with God’s purpose as Jesus did (John 6:38). He lived solely to do the will of God according to the ways of God in the timing of God for the glory of God. The capacity of humans to live like Jesus can only be accomplished by the grace of God.

Here is your business tip. Wise organizational leaders and managers seek to connect their thinking and actions to God’s metanarrative, knowing that all will give an account to the Creator for their choices. Therefore, individuals and organizations must seek to serve God’s purpose in the metanarrative with the understanding that the only correct way to live, individually and organizationally, is to seek to obey God’s will according to God’s ways in God’s timing for God’s glory. At the same time, we must always remember that the power to so live comes solely from God. This is foundational Christian thinking.