•8:00 AM
By: Bill Bryant, Wooddale Church of Christ
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Cor. 4:16-18)
There are different worlds around us to see.
Through the microscope we can view the cellular world.
Through the telescope we can view the astronomical world.
Through natural eyes we can see the physical world.
But through the eye of faith we can see the spiritual world.
Focusing on the unseen is fundamental to our faith. When a man catches a vision of the invisible God and knows that He is the sovereign ruler of the world, it stabilizes his heart and calms his soul.
With the proper view of eternity, one can truly see the condition of everything physical around him.
We see a world that is in trouble.
We see surroundings that are temporary.
We see a world that is decaying.
We see our own bodies passing away.
But the true believer, through the eye of faith, dwells on the eternal and the glory that comes with it. With a focus on the Lord Jesus and eternity with Him a believer is then truly prepared to handle the storms of life that blow in from time to time. He knows the best is yet to come and is not saddened by the affairs of life as worldly people are, even death.
I read recently of an intriguing story from the life of Winston Churchill. As he was making plans for his funeral, he asked to be laid in state in the heart of London at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He requested that his casket be placed under the massive dome in the center of the cathedral. Churchill then requested two trumpeters be stationed on each side of the balcony that circles the dome. It was his wish that at the close of his funeral service, the trumpeter on one side would play “Taps.” When he finished the trumpeter on the other side was to play “Reveille” (the wake-up call for the military).
What a beautiful picture of the reality that when we experience the sleep of death, we awaken on the other side to a life in eternity.
We literally, as true believers, will live happily ever after.
We are going home.
If you are part of the redeemed, you can tell yourself, “I am one day closer home.”
Is that what you see?
