13 Reasons to Live: We’re Not Home Yet

I had no idea how expensive frozen yogurt could be until recently. We received a buy one, get one free coupon in the mail, so we took the kids on what we thought would be a low-cost excursion. “Fill your cups with whatever flavors and toppings your little hearts desire,” I told them. The sign above the register said it was only $5 per cup, and with the coupon it seemed a reasonable deal for all you can eat froyo.

The kids had no trouble obliging, filling their cups to overflowing with an interesting mix of ingredients. It was all good and fun until we got to the cash register. “Place the cups on the scale, ma’am,” the cashier ordered. When she read the final cost, I couldn’t help but ask if she was joking. It turns out they charged per ounce. That $5 per cup sign? It was for an empty, take-home souvenir cup. The final cost for our order, including the coupon, could have bought us a few gallons from the grocery store.

While I recovered from sticker-shock, the kids enjoyed their small taste of heaven. A few bites in they were complaining of tummy-aches. A few minutes, later, we were heading home.

Our experience got me thinking of how temporary everything is on this earth. The good and the bad. The painful and the enjoyable. Everything is fleeting. Even the best of life fails to merit our investment.

The temporal nature of things can be a little depressing. Why can’t what’s good last a little longer? Why can’t it equal the price we pay for the enjoyment?

It helps to remember that this is not our ultimate home. All the good we encounter here is but a taste of greater things to come. And the pain? It’s but a passing reminder that our heavenly treasure is held in jars of clay.

If it seems life’s not worth living due to the fleeting nature of good, take heart. If it seems not worth the effort to live another day because all your investment yields little return, keep in mind. We’re not home yet.

When we follow Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, we have hope of eternal life in heaven, where there’s “no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.” The best things on earth are mere shadows of the best things of heaven. From a spoonful of your favorite frozen yogurt to a vacation at the most beautiful destination you can imagine, nothing can compare to the everlasting perfection of heaven. Nothing here will last, but all points us toward the things that do.

Receive every small blessing as a taste of the promise of our final home. Let every investment we make be for those things that truly last. And may the hope of heaven penetrate our hearts with purpose, the constant cognizance that if we have breath, there is reason to live.

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

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There is an End

There is an end to evil. Though it seems to rise triumphant, it will not prevail, nor those who revel in it.

 

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The Bigger Picture


“Life will always seem unfair when we measure it by earthly standards of health, wealth and power. But when we encounter God in a personal, intimate way…we can gain a heavenly perspective. We’ll begin to see the other part of the picture—that the rewards of this life are temporary and, as a matter of fact, can even hinder us from discovering what is truly important.” (Philip Yancey & Tim Stafford)

 

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Chasing After The Wind

The things of the earth are fading, failing—a mere chasing after the wind. But it is NEVER in vain to pursue the things of heaven while here on earth.

 

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13 Reasons to Live: It’s Not in Vain

Blog_FootprintsBeachI love a man named Asaph. Yes, he lived about 3,000 years ago and no, I’ve never met him. He’s one of the lesser-known writers of the psalms. Lesser, I say, because we all know about King David and tend to mistakenly attribute all the psalms to him. But Asaph had a lot to say, and that’s what I love about him. And when it comes to those gut-wrenchingly honest psalms, Asaph’s are just about as raw as they get.

Psalm 73 is one of my favorites. Here, Asaph divulges his struggles, zeroing in on a time when his “foot almost slipped.” He’d fallen into the common trap of envy, though in this case he envied the wicked—not because they were wicked, but because they seemed to prosper in all they did.

Why were those whose hearts were bent on evil so graced with problem-free lives? They did whatever they wanted, hurting whoever they wanted along the way, and yet they lived on, “free from common human burdens.”

Oh, how I relate to Asaph. Sometimes, I echo his lament, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.”

I echo this, but I know in my heart that Asaph moved beyond that lament as must I. His thinking was mired in despair until he “entered the sanctuary of God.” It was there, he understood.

There is an end to evil. Though it seems to rise triumphant, it will not prevail, nor those who revel in it.

An eternal perspective transforms our narrow, earth-bound perspective. It elevates our thinking, to remember, “my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

The things of the earth are fading, failing—a mere chasing after the wind. But it is NEVER in vain to pursue the things of heaven while here on earth. Because there will come a day when we will finally see eternity. And it’s gonna be worth it.

“Life will always seem unfair when we measure it by earthly standards of health, wealth and power. But when we encounter God in a personal, intimate way…we can gain a heavenly perspective. We’ll begin to see the other part of the picture—that the rewards of this life are temporary and, as a matter of fact, can even hinder us from discovering what is truly important.” (Philip Yancey & Tim Stafford)

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There Will Come A Time

Design_Rainbowthere will come a time
when the storm will pass
the clouds will break
and the sun will shine

but for a moment
sorrows last
soon you’ll embrace
the joy you find

there will come a time
when the fire dies
the smoke will clear
you’ll breathe once more

and from the ashes
you will rise
each loss to forge
an open door

there will come a time
when the mountain’s scaled
the conquered valley
now in view

and though you’ve stumbled
fallen, failed
your strength
will finally be renewed

there will come a time
when wars will cease
the endless, raging battle
won

a healing song
will be released
and through it
you’ll have overcome

there will come a time
when fear is gone
tears, sorrow, pain
will be no more

from burdened lives
we will move on
through heaven’s waiting
open door

 

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A Crown

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1,3)

 

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