There’s a very hard frost in the garden today. And it means that the birds outside are twice as hungry, and all fluffed up against the bitter chill. Meanwhile, lots of humans have got coughs and colds, and sadly, this is a time of year when a higher number of creatures (including humans) will pass away. My owner’s wife has just lost a close family member, and every time we lose someone dear, it serves as a reminder that our existence here on Earth is but both fragile and temporary. You could say that all of us are but ‘temporary residents.’
So often, humans try to persuade themselves otherwise. They forget that their money is temporary. That the house they live in is just their temporary accommodation. That the car of their dreams is but a very temporary possession. And that any status earned or power achieved, will eventually vanish like a puff of smoke. Because ultimately, only God and Jesus will endure forever, along with those of us they welcome into their eternal home.
I’ve often thought that far too many humans are obsessed with cheating death, and maybe this comes from all those ‘superhero’ movies that they like to watch. Yes, they seem to love heroes who quite literally cling on to life, as they dangle from broken rope bridges or swaying cable cars, or as they dodge flying bullets, or shoot all of the baddies before they get shot themselves. There’s a kind of human self-deception taking place here, -a belief that the current existence is all that there is, and that if you’re a true hero, then you can preserve your own life here on Earth. And that really makes me feel rather sad.
You see, if we can only spend some time in our lives finding God and Jesus, and learning to place our trust in them, then we don’t have to worry about death at all. Jesus has already conquered it for us. And this means that death is now no more than the gateway to a much better existence, -certainly a much better place than the world in which these human superheroes operate. And I know for certain, that if one of my little feathered friends should freeze to death outside in the garden, or when a much loved member of our human family breathes out their very final breath, they are being delivered from a world of toil and strife to a perfect existence that endures for ever. So none of us need to fear our passing any more. Not since Jesus came to Earth. The spiritual has conquered the physical, and love has defeated sin. If only those human superheroes were bright enough to know it!
“Wise people build their lives around what is eternal and squeeze in what is temporary. Not the other way around.”
(John Ortberg: [1957 – present]: American evangelist and Christian author and speaker)
“The blessing of God enriches the soul for eternity while that given by the world enriches the body temporarily.”
(T. B. Joshua: [1963 – 2021]: Nigerian charismatic pastor)
“My home is in Heaven. I’m just travelling through this world.”
(Billy Graham: [1918 – 2018]: Prominent American evangelist)
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
“For here we do not have an enduring home, but we are looking for the home that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)
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