[Faith-talk] Heavenly perspective.

[Alan Wheeler]

This is from Pastor Bob Coy!  I love his radio ministry.  He pastors a Calvary Chapel church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Heavenly perspective

 
Well, the election cycle that seemed like it started four years ago and would never end, is finally behind us. What's settled is settled and America has a new leader waiting in the wings. Of course, roughly half of the nation is ecstatic and the other half is in deep depression.

No matter which group you're in today, I think a biblical reminder is in order.

If you belong to Jesus Christ, you hold dual citizenship. You're not just a citizen of this nation. You are also a subject in an invisible kingdom. In the former you have a president. In the latter you have a wonderful, powerful-but-kind King.

America, like every national identity, will one day pass away and our citizenship will be meaningless. But our place in God's kingdom is secure and eternal. A hundred thousand years after the towering Washington Monument has crumbled into rubble, we'll still be exploring the depths and heights of God's goodness and playing a role in King Jesus' unfathomable plans and purposes.

Just a little perspective, please.

Don't get me wrong. I love this country and I'm so very grateful to be living in this place, and to have been born in this time of history. But it's temporal. Transitory. Passing away. As Paul advises us in Second Corinthians 4:18:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

That's a pretty good thing to remember any time you're battling disappointment. It's also good to remember that when we put our hope in God and in the things of His kingdom, we'll never be disappointed:

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)

How is it possible that we can have hopes that are never disappointed? What is Paul talking about here?

He's not talking about human hope, which is usually little more that wishful thinking. This is a holy hope-a heavenly hope. There's a difference between human hope and heavenly hope. How is it different? Heavenly hope is in a completely different dimension. 

You see, my human hope only lasts as long as I am alive, but my hope centered on heavenly things takes me from hope here on Planet Earth to hope in Heaven.

When the bulk of hope is invested in eternal things, you don't get overly worked up about what happens here. When the world throws you a curve ball, your heart just says, "Whatever. I don't care."

Why is this? It is because you realize any disappointments in life will be compensated for with great joys in Heaven. You can be sure that every light and momentary trial here on earth is producing far greater glory on the other side. This is the kind of hope that keeps on hoping.

And it doesn't stop hoping until you reach Heaven.  When you see His face you know that the hope that you've been holding onto did not lead to disappointment.

Most people - Christians included - live their lives as if this world is the main focus and Heaven is only a wispy, fleeting afterthought. Yet life makes sense only when you turn that whole system the other way around. 

Life is very, very short. Life is temporary. But on the other side, it's forever. It's eternal. Now ask yourself . . . If we will only spend a few fleeting years here but will spend uncountable eons there, which place should we be living for?

I've determined not to live for here. I've decided to live for there. I'm now living for the eternal Kingdom of God rather than the crumbling Kingdom of Earth.

Once I switch that viewpoint around, what happens? Well now I can hold onto hope. Why? Because it's only going to be a little while until I'll be there, in eternity. 

How Much Time?

How much longer do you and I have on this earth? We don't know, do we? It might be 50 more years. It could be 50 more minutes.

The fact is no one has a guarantee of even five more minutes of life. As the pastor of a large congregation, I get sad reminders of that truth all the time.

I remember one week a while back in which I had two memorial services to attend within just a few days of each other. I officiated one of these services, but not the other. Both services were for young people. A 38-year-old husband on a bicycle ride. Suddenly, he's gone, leaving three little girls and a little boy. 

A few days earlier I officiated the service of a mom in her early 40s. She lost a two-year battle with cancer and left behind a husband and three little girls. And you're counting on tomorrow? You're assuming how many years?  How much time? 

Please understand-I'm not trying to unsettle your spirit. I'm trying to settle your security.

I want you to put the election, the economy, and everything else that we tend to spend so much of our time and energy obsessing over in perspective. So much of what we invest ourselves in is fleeting and passing away. Meanwhile, the things that will actually endure for eternity end up having to fight for the leftover scraps of our time, thoughts, care and resources.

What are these things?

I'm talking about souls. How much time do we spend praying, speaking and giving to see lost people find new life in Jesus Christ?

I'm talking about kingdom relationships. How much of our conversation with our brothers and sisters in Christ is geared toward encouraging, exhorting, and building up?

I'm talking about righteous acts of compassion and service. How many times do we follow Jesus' example and take the humble servant's role? Remember, Jesus said:

". . . if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42)

Jesus had a term for investing in eternal things. He called it "laying up treasures in heaven."

There are many ways to do that. Of course, one of them is to help in financing the sharing of the gospel-just as you do when you support the outreaches of the Active Word.

It is only on the other side that you will fully know all you've been a part of through your involvement in this ministry.

Until then, keep "fixing your eyes on that which is unseen . . . for what is unseen is eternal."



Until the whole world hears,



Pastor Bob Coy

+-+-+-

   But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
 Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
~~~

Alan D Wheeler
awheeler at neb.rr.com
IM me at: outlaw-cowboy at live.com
Skype: redwheel1
Check me out on the Q, Fridays from 10 AM to 1 PM eastern time at www.theqonline.net
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