Let’s start with an undisputed fact that doesn't change whether you believe in Jesus or not. You will be dead a lot longer than you will ever be alive. For example:  in Punxsutawney where I live, there are graves that are over 200 years old. Those people have been dead a lot longer than they were ever alive.

If your perspective on life is, "this is all there is", then anxiety, depression, and hopelessness will abound. No matter how advanced we become as humans, we cannot defeat the fact that you will be dead longer than you are alive. Clinical cases of anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, based on just the reported cases. Yet humanity as a whole is more advanced, wealthier, and has access to more pleasure than at any time in all of human history.

What if we had a different perspective? Another option? What if there is something more to this life? What if there was something better to come? What if one day, all that is wrong with this world will come to an end, and we can truly leave that behind? Wouldn’t that be worth looking into?

That is what Jesus offers us. Hope for a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Not just any future, but a glorious one where there is no death, no tears, no sickness, nor any pain. A future where Jesus is waiting to welcome you and then provide for your every need for all of eternity. Heaven is not made for Jesus, but for us.

What is the price? Just ask Jesus and you get in. How do you know you are in? Jesus will begin to have a real relationship with you, so that you will know. Jesus wants you to know.

JRR Tolkien who is most famous for writing, "The Lord of the Rings", which almost everyone is familiar with. What you may not know is He was also the person who led C.S. Lewis to Jesus. He was a born-again Christian. JRR Tolkein has this quote: “The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus means that one day everything sad will come untrue.”

There is a lot of sadness in this world, but with Jesus that does not have to bother you, because one day it will all be gone! This is absolutely true. If there is nothing more beyond this life, then sadness will be gone, because you will simply not exist. However, if there is something more, you have a choice to be in a place where every kind of possible sadness is not just gone but is replaced with a happiness that is unimaginable.

Unimaginable is truly the right word. If we could imagine how great Heaven will be and how much Jesus actually loves us, then we would be disappointed. Jesus gives us glimpses of what that will look like, to wet our appetite and let us know that is only the beginning!

Which perspective leads to a happier life? This is it, or there is something more that is way better?

The undisputed fact is, you will be dead longer than you are alive.

If there is nothing else, how hopeless we all are, but if there is something more, then all that happens in this life is really no big deal.

What is the price of this hope? Start a relationship with Jesus today, not a religion, a real loving relationship. You will know that you are in one because Jesus will become real to you.

Any time we enter into a relationship we are awkward about it, so if you need help, just pray the words in the following paragraph and mean them. Jesus will do the rest and your perspective on life will change.

"Jesus, thank you for wanting me in your life. Thank you for coming to earth to die for me even though I don’t deserve it. Thank you for coming back to life to prove to me that there is hope for a future. Jesus, I want to have a real relationship with you today!"

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!