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In Light of Eternity Tom Barnard
“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.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
“If we build to please ourselves, we are building on the sand; if we build for the love of God, we are building on the rock.” Oswald Chambers
We live in a world dominated by the senses—feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting. The secular world wants us to believe that these are the only things by which reality can be experienced. Today’s world is the world of the “now.” Today’s world has no idea of what eternity is. But we do, don’t we?
I accidentally found a web-site on the internet promoting a “church” that calls itself “The Church of What’s Happening Now—the First Church of Reason.” Cute. I wonder if they give credit to Flip Wilson, the comedian who introduced the first part of the church name on his television show in 1970. America loved Flip in his role as Reverend Leroy. I can only guess what America would think of this new “pastor.”
Lorado Taft (1860-1936) was one of the most distinguished American sculptors of the early 20th Century. His classic book, Modern Tendencies in Sculpture (1921, University of Chicago Press), was used in many university classes in art history during that era. One of his criticisms of modern art was that the “precious hint of eternity which is sculpture’s greatest asset has been completely eliminated.” What he said about the art of his day could be said of almost everything being sold to the public today. Eternity is missing!
The Apostle Paul had it right. Christians should fix their eyes “not on what is seen, but on what is not seen”—not on the temporary, but on the eternal. In fact, eternity should be seen in everything we do.
Heavenly Father, forgive me for spending so much time and effort on the “now” things of life, rather than on the “later” things of life. Help me to focus on things with heaven in view. Remind me to set my priorities on things that last, not on things that rust. Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.” In his strong Name I pray. Amen |