Dare we hope!
As we enter the second summer of the second year of the global pandemic, and depending on who we listen to, there may be hope for a return to some semblance of normalcy. Some “experts” have said that if enough people are vaccinated, we might soon see some return to life as we knew it. Some have said it could happen by fall. Last year the higher summer temperatures allowed some easing of restrictions, maybe the same will happen this summer. Others have said we may never return to “normal.”
Who would not be ecstatic to think of going to church, a movie, or out to eat without giving thought to a mask or social distancing? The idea of attending a concert, a football game, a neighborhood cookout, or a “normal” Christmas season with shopping and family seems almost too good to be true.
But while all these things are truly wonderful, are we setting our hopes and dreams high enough? Have we become so comfortable in this world that we have lost sight of a place where eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered the heart of man the things the Lord has laid up for those who love Him? Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that He has placed eternity in our hearts, but the world in which we live can quite effectively distract and draw us away. For those who have set their minds on things above, for whom Heaven is a very literal reality where they know with absolute certainty, they will spend eternity, several things happen:
It changes our focus. Watching a close, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat football game can be exciting. Living life that way can be debilitating. Watching the game on DVR when you already know your team wins takes away much of the excitement. Living life knowing the outcome is Heaven takes away much of the stress. Anything that does happen in this life can be seen as “light and momentary troubles that are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The things we can see are temporary, the things we cannot see are eternal, and we cannot focus on both simultaneously.
It changes our priorities. The secular world in which we live exerts a gravitational pull on believers that cannot be overstated; and in so doing, makes endless promises it simply cannot keep. We are told that things, pleasure, entertainment, possessions, and image will give us happiness and fulfillment, tempting us to invest our time and treasure here. Our Lord teaches a very different value system when He tells us “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20, NIV.) Following His teaching breaks the gravitational pull of the world once and for all.
It changes our passions. We choose what we love. God’s Word tells us to “love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” (Mark 12:29-30) It also tells us “do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15). Nothing can separate believers from the love of God, but who or what we choose to love can separate us from our fellowship with God and the sense of His perfect peace and presence.
By choosing to set our mind on things above, to know that Heaven is our eternal home, and we are merely passing through “this life” to reach “that life”, our focus, priorities, and passions will gradually, yet forever, change.
We can certainly enjoy the blessings that this world has to offer, but in a way that our ultimate joy and peace are not shaken should those blessings be interrupted.
“Hold loosely to the things of this life, so that if God requires them of you, it will be easy to let them go.” Corrie ten Boom