The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Passing and the Abiding"
"Only a Heavenly reality - the Heavenly reality - can fill and fulfill our hearts. God made us to know Himself as the singular Life of our lives available in this present existence, and forevermore."
"It came to pass… The world passeth away" (Genesis 4:3; I John 2:17).
Our present existence involves a transient journey through a realm that will not always exist in its current state. "It came to pass" appears four hundred, fifty three times in the pages of the Bible. It must be this way regarding earthly things. We live in a fallen realm cursed by the consequences of sin and God's loving, righteous, and necessary judgment upon it. Indeed, lay hold of the most seemingly solid and abiding earthly reality, and then find it dissolve into nothingness if we place the trust of our heart in it.
"All is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
God gave Solomon untold wisdom and riches (Ecclesiastes 1:16; II Chronicles 1:12). He then sent Solomon on a journey to discover the world's possessions and pleasures as a means of fulfilling the heart. The king returned with a message: "There is nothing there! The world is utterly devoid and bereft in providing for the spirit of man! All is vanity!" Thus, the richest man, the one most able to enjoy the world, and the wisest man, the one most equipped to analyze his findings, tells us that the gold of the present realm, in whatever form, is fool's gold. Moreover, only the fool seeks the offerings of the world as the hope of the heart. All is indeed vanity.
We do well to frequently take internal inventory, as it were. Do we view anything or anyone of the present passing realm as indispensable to the joy and peace of our hearts? Do we view ourselves as indispensable to the joy and peace of their hearts? If so, we must unsheathe "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" and instantly put to death the insane and absurd notion that can so easily deceive us (Ephesians 6:17). Certainly, earthly things can be enjoyed, as administered and provided by our Heavenly Father. "God giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (I Timothy 6:17). In the moment they become objects of worship, however, a grave threat presents itself to our soul. The necklace of glimmering jewels quickly becomes a rough and suffocating noose if we make more of it than it can possibly be.
Long ago, Moses told Israel, "He is thy life." The Apostle Paul echoed the truth to Christians: "Christ… is our life" (Deuteronomy 30:20; Colossians 3:4). Only a Heavenly reality - the Heavenly reality - can fill and fulfill our hearts. God made us to know Himself as the singular Life of our lives available in this present existence, and forevermore. Look nowhere else for peace, joy, hope, light, meaning, and love that abides forevermore. Look rather unto "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). We will more than find that for which our hearts exist as we divert our gaze from that which "passeth away" to that which "abideth forever" (I Peter 1:23).
Thou art the life, the Life of my life,
the joy of my spirit.
A Voice speaks by Your Word.
I more and more hear it.
To live is Christ, it says, nothing else is.
I kneel to draw near it,
to hear and respond, in the truth of Thy light,
the grace of Thy Spirit…
Thou art the Life, the Life of my life.
"To live is Christ."
(Philippians 1:21)
Weekly Memory Verse
With all thy getting, get understanding.
(Proverbs 4:7)
6974
No comments:
Post a Comment