"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
I've had what may seem to be some sobering thoughts this week. I would like to remind us all of some things that we may already know but need to learn again. So often as we live our daily lives in this present world, we get so caught up in its drama and struggles that we lose sight of one very important point. This world is not our final destination. In fact it is only the starting point (and it may not even be that because life begins in the mind of God). It is like the trip to the gas station before the trip of a lifetime. We treat this preparatory trip as if it is the main event. It is sort of like planning a trip to Disney and only focusing on the trip to the gas station BEFORE the real trip. If the car is crowded going to the gas station, we can tolerate it since we know that it is just a short trip before we embark on the long journey. Life is joyous at times but it is also difficult. People that we love pass on and we are left with the pain of separation. Then there is the problem of physical pain due to illness and accidents. The emotional pain due to mental health, grief, and coping issues presents other problems. If we are blessed to live a "long" life, the pain of loss and illness as our transitory bodies decay also generates pain. I heard it said many times that we are in trouble now, we've just come through trouble, or we are headed for trouble. There is some truth to this as life is marked by loses due to its transitory nature. Nothing around us is permanent.
I remember that when I was a teenager, I did yard work to make extra money. I regularly mowed the lawn of an older lady in what used to be called "Carrville, Alabama." This lady had the most immaculate lawn you could imagine. She kept her "mill house" pristine. She always had it freshly painted, the lawn edged, and everything looked almost perfect. She also had an old Chevy Chevelle from the 1960s that was in mint condition that sat in her driveway. My friends literally slowed to almost a stop every time we passed her place to look at that car. After I was married, almost ten years later, I noticed that her home was very run-down and the yard was in disarray. The Chevelle was gone. When I asked my parents if they knew why, they told me that her health had declined and she was now in a nursing home. She has since passed on. Everything that identified her was changed. Her home, which had been the jewel of the community, was no longer the same. I doubt that now the current residents even know her name and that she once lived there. This is just one example of the point that I stated above. This world is NOT our home.
If I asked you what kind of person your great great grandmother was, would you know? Your great great grandfather? What kind of career did he have? Was he happy? Did he struggle with any medical issues? My point is that during the lifetime of your distant elders all those things were of the utmost importance. But now they are not. Those things have passed. The only important thing about them is where they are now and where they will spend eternity (which is a long long time!).
Many atheists have stated that religion is nothing more than man's attempts to create a god to avoid dealing with our mortality. However, everything around us points to the transitory nature of life. We are physical beings but occasionally one of us is allowed to "bridge the gap" between this transitory life and the one to come. John, the Revelator, was allowed to glimpse things indescribable from that realm in the book of Revelation. The reason we have such a hard time understanding much of it is because he was attempting to describe something that we have no point of reference for.
I believe that the seed of salvation puts the assurance of something greater in our spirit when we are born again to faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is the first glimpse that death is not the end.
When we are standing next to the gravesite of someone who has passed on, we often quote passages of scripture and sing songs that depict the transitory nature of life and that there is more on the "other side." But then we often return to our lives only to forget this until the next time we are brought face-to-face with the pain of this transitional world.
The true champions of faith, and almost every community has at least one, always seem to live in the transitory reality that they are just passing through. My question to each of us is, if we all lived our daily lives in that sure reality, would our lives change? Would we do things differently? If our answer is yes, maybe we need to change our perspective and ask God for His.
This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
I've had what may seem to be some sobering thoughts this week. I would like to remind us all of some things that we may already know but need to learn again. So often as we live our daily lives in this present world, we get so caught up in its drama and struggles that we lose sight of one very important point. This world is not our final destination. In fact it is only the starting point (and it may not even be that because life begins in the mind of God). It is like the trip to the gas station before the trip of a lifetime. We treat this preparatory trip as if it is the main event. It is sort of like planning a trip to Disney and only focusing on the trip to the gas station BEFORE the real trip. If the car is crowded going to the gas station, we can tolerate it since we know that it is just a short trip before we embark on the long journey. Life is joyous at times but it is also difficult. People that we love pass on and we are left with the pain of separation. Then there is the problem of physical pain due to illness and accidents. The emotional pain due to mental health, grief, and coping issues presents other problems. If we are blessed to live a "long" life, the pain of loss and illness as our transitory bodies decay also generates pain. I heard it said many times that we are in trouble now, we've just come through trouble, or we are headed for trouble. There is some truth to this as life is marked by loses due to its transitory nature. Nothing around us is permanent.
I remember that when I was a teenager, I did yard work to make extra money. I regularly mowed the lawn of an older lady in what used to be called "Carrville, Alabama." This lady had the most immaculate lawn you could imagine. She kept her "mill house" pristine. She always had it freshly painted, the lawn edged, and everything looked almost perfect. She also had an old Chevy Chevelle from the 1960s that was in mint condition that sat in her driveway. My friends literally slowed to almost a stop every time we passed her place to look at that car. After I was married, almost ten years later, I noticed that her home was very run-down and the yard was in disarray. The Chevelle was gone. When I asked my parents if they knew why, they told me that her health had declined and she was now in a nursing home. She has since passed on. Everything that identified her was changed. Her home, which had been the jewel of the community, was no longer the same. I doubt that now the current residents even know her name and that she once lived there. This is just one example of the point that I stated above. This world is NOT our home.
If I asked you what kind of person your great great grandmother was, would you know? Your great great grandfather? What kind of career did he have? Was he happy? Did he struggle with any medical issues? My point is that during the lifetime of your distant elders all those things were of the utmost importance. But now they are not. Those things have passed. The only important thing about them is where they are now and where they will spend eternity (which is a long long time!).
Many atheists have stated that religion is nothing more than man's attempts to create a god to avoid dealing with our mortality. However, everything around us points to the transitory nature of life. We are physical beings but occasionally one of us is allowed to "bridge the gap" between this transitory life and the one to come. John, the Revelator, was allowed to glimpse things indescribable from that realm in the book of Revelation. The reason we have such a hard time understanding much of it is because he was attempting to describe something that we have no point of reference for.
I believe that the seed of salvation puts the assurance of something greater in our spirit when we are born again to faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is the first glimpse that death is not the end.
When we are standing next to the gravesite of someone who has passed on, we often quote passages of scripture and sing songs that depict the transitory nature of life and that there is more on the "other side." But then we often return to our lives only to forget this until the next time we are brought face-to-face with the pain of this transitional world.
The true champions of faith, and almost every community has at least one, always seem to live in the transitory reality that they are just passing through. My question to each of us is, if we all lived our daily lives in that sure reality, would our lives change? Would we do things differently? If our answer is yes, maybe we need to change our perspective and ask God for His.
This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
I have a loving mother just over in gloryland
And I don't expect to stop until I shake her hand
She's waiting now for me in heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home Then lord what will I do
The angels beckon me From heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home In this world anymore
Just over…
Just over in gloryland
We'll live eternally
The Saints on every hand are shouting victory
Their songs of sweetest praise
Drift back from heaven's shore
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord, you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home, Then Lord what can I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in the world anymore
(Jim Reeves)
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