Pitiful?

"If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied."
1Cor.15:19

" I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1Cor.15:50-58

I was an atheist until late into my 29th year. As an atheist I regarded Christians, especially those who were "born again" ( I had no idea what that meant) with a sense of curiosity, disdain, and pity. I considered them to be like the "church lady" from Saturday Night Live, and I thought them deluded and weak, people who needed a crutch - the crutch of religion. These were some of the things that I had gleaned from college life, where it's often taught and understood that the triumph of humanity is attained by human will and academic achievement. I quoted those such as Karl Marx': "Religion is the opiate of the masses", a hypnotic drug-like philosophy to make everyone feel better through their miserable lives until death comes- and it's "game over".
I had no idea what I was talking about.
On the day that I believed and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my hard heart was changed in a moment, as was how I perceived myself, others, God and all His manifold natures - everything. I believe that in the same way our bodies, whether alive or dead, will be changed from flawed flesh to glorified radiance at the last trumpet sound, as the Scriptures assure us. Needless to say, it is not Christians whom I pity now, but those who are in a perilous place and don't even know it-my heart aches for them. It is my prayer that God's Word would continue to run swiftly and be honored (2Thess.3:1-2) received by those who are still walking in the same darkness we were delivered from.
Beloved, let's stand firm, and not be moved. Our labors for His kingdom are not in vain, victory over sin and death is assured us through the Master/King of the universe.
He is coming soon.