“…we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” – Paul, in II Corinthians 4:18
This verse is a good reminder not to get stressed out about temporary things by thinking of them as if they were permanent. This is where a lot of anxiety and anguish comes from. We can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, so we feel like the darkness is going to go on forever. But faith helps us to see the bigger picture, which is the eternal picture. Life is full of things that are temporary. That credit card in your pocket has an expiration date. Every political office-holder is temporary, no matter who he or she is – including the President. Even pastors are temporary; all of us ultimately are interim pastors. Jesus is the only permanent high priest. And so it is with all our hardships. Paul had these types of things in mind when he gave voice to his experiences of hardship in II Corinthians 4:7-15. There he meditated on his sufferings in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Life is full of moments like these. The challenge is to let the Holy Spirit lift our minds above this changeful world and into the calm eternity where God dwells. We who are Christians see it all through the lens of Jesus’ cross and resurrection. We know that whatever dark valley we’re going through, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. If God is for us who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). The opposing powers will never have the final victory, and the resurrection of Jesus is a sign of this. They killed Him, but they still couldn’t find a way to stop Him. And this shapes the way we look at the whole of life: The outer nature wastes away, while the inner nature is always being renewed (II Corinthians 4:16). What we suffer right now is but a light momentary affliction compared to an eternal weight of glory (4:17). We fix our gaze on what is unseen and eternal (4:18). If we were to fix it on our problems, we might become depressed. Likewise, if Paul had fixed his focus on his hardships he would’ve been depressed too. Though his own testimony speaks of being shipwrecked, subjected to repeated violence, enduring sleeplessness, hunger, and multiplied dangers (11:23-27) – he didn’t focus on that. He fixed his gaze on Christ – and the Bible tells us that we can do the same. It gives us a sense of the eternal. This summer I learned how to paddleboard for the first time. My fifteen-year-old niece gave me some pointers to help get me started. I was real shaky at first. It’s like learning to ride a bike in that it requires concentration to gain a sense of balance. You take some falls while you’re learning – though it’s good that you’re hitting the water instead of concrete. But you can’t really start to focus on the scenery until you get used to it. You have to focus on one yard at a time, with the water that’s right in front of you, the oar that’s in your hand, and the position of your feet. As you develop skill and balance you can start to enjoy the scenery more. Then you have a bigger sense of where you are in water, and you can really enjoy the experience. Life is like that as well. Too often we get frustrated because we’re forced to fix our gaze on our present struggles with the minutiae of life. We need to see the big picture, and our faith helps us to do that. This is why Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. God bless you, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church of Oroville
0 Comments
|
Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
Categories |