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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I’m not getting any younger. Every day that I look at myself in the mirror or get up to move from one place to another, I am reminded of this.
Aging is one of those inevitable realities, right? As sure as we are born and out of our mother’s womb, we begin this march, day after day, toward getting older and older and older. We move from having parents to being parents and then most of the time becoming grandparents and if we’re really fortunate, great grandparents before the time comes when this life ends and it will end for death is as much an inevitable reality as aging. It could be very depressing and cause a person to lose heart if there wasn’t something ahead that was even better than this worldly life. Thank goodness there is something, something that brings a wellspring of sure hope.
Christians have this assured hope in the promise of salvation through Jesus and the eternal life gained by believing in Him as Savior. It’s the hope we find Paul writing about in the closing verses of 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. Look again at his words here:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Here we find Paul talking about hope in the midst of aging and death’s inevitability. He and his fellow missionaries refused to lose heart although they were outwardly “wasting away”. For although their outer appearance looked as if they were in decline, the Lord continued to renew their inner spirits through His Holy Spirit “day by day”. And although they had momentary problems in life, “an eternal glory” awaited them, one that outweighed any of the difficulties they were going through. So they fixed their eyes and inclined their hearts toward the future everlasting life in store for them, that which was unseen, that which reminded them that the world was not really their home.
Friends, Christians today have this same hope. They, like Paul and his associates, just need to make that hope their focus so to not lose heart. Although Christian believers today may be wasting away, they are still being renewed inwardly every day by the Holy Spirit. We are all works in progress spiritually as the Lord continues to make us the people He wants us to be.
In the end translation, the unseen that lies ahead, the promise of eternal life through Jesus, is far more appealing than that which we can see, that which can often leave us discouraged. When you feel like you’re getting down, turn your eyes to the heavens, fix your eyes on Jesus, and remember that the best is yet to come because of all He did to save you. I guarantee that your spirit will be lifted up and joy will replace your inner sadness.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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