THIS LIFE IS ONLY TEMPORARY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever! Amen.

1 Peter 5:10-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you were to allow the daily news to impact you and the way you view the world you live in, I’m afraid you might end up where I am sometimes, depressed and disenfranchised. Whether we get our information from sources on television or streaming online, it isn’t a pretty picture, for sure, and we definitely are reminded of how much sin and evil are alive and well in all parts of the world.

When I find myself in this place, a place where I need encouragement, there is an old saying that comes to mind in regard to Christian believers and their future in light of the present. It goes like this...

We (Christians) are in the world but we aren’t of it.

In other words, through trust in Jesus as Savior, all believers gain a permanent home in Heaven, co-heirs to the Kingdom (Romans 8:14-17) who will inhabit places already prepared for them by Christ Himself (John 14:1-3). That means that this life is only temporary.

Friends, this is good news for all Christians, good news that displaces our discouragement and replaces it with hope and joy. For no matter what happens in this world during this transitory existence we’re in, the best is still yet to come and when I say best, I mean that even your most fantastic day on earth will pale in comparison to every single day of your life in Heaven.

With this, let’s look at our scripture passage today as we are on the downside of our study of 1 Peter, chapter 5. Here’s what we read in verses 10 and 11:

In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power to Him forever! Amen.

Here we find important affirmation from the very Word of our God. For through “His kindness”, He “called” for Christian believers “to share in His eternal glory” (aka Heaven) through “Christ Jesus”, His Son. We also are reminded that we will experience suffering in life, even if we are saved through believing in Jesus. It’s inevitable and all part of the Christian experience if you think about it. For why would we think we could go through life, free from affliction when our Savior Jesus was brutally beaten and then crucified to save us.

Fortunately, just as Jesus only suffered briefly before drawing His final breath and then rising up in victory from the tomb on the third day, soon to enter His Father’s glory, so too will all Christian believers find their Heavenly Father “restore, support, and strengthen” them, placing them “on a firm foundation”. He will make new all those who placed their faith in His Son as they abide with Him forever.

So take heart brother and sisters in Christ. While this world will so often leave us in a state of dismay, keep your eyes fixed on Heaven and know it is your permanent home after this temporary life ends.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.