Articles
Beyond This
There’s a passage we really need to hear. If we’d just believe and do what it says, what a difference it would make in our lives!
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB).
Now if we really believed this and lived accordingly, here’s what would happen:
Our problems would be more bearable. Paul says that the suffering we now experience is a “momentary, light affliction.” Paul, who suffered so much more than most of us, had a right to say this. He reminds us that suffering is temporary. It won’t always be like this. Believing this, we can avoid despair and discouragement, in view of the “eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” God has promised us.
Our lives would have a clearer focus. We would avoid the trap so many fall into: the pursuit of material things. Our eyes would be focused beyond this world: “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” For the Christian, everything that can be bought is marked down because it will soon be replaced by something far better.
What will it take for us to live like this? It will require us to look at the things which are not seen. But how can we look at something that is invisible? By faith. Without faith we cannot be motivated to pray to an unseen God or strive for a reward not yet revealed. But with faith we can.
The Christian life at times may seem hard, but let’s never forget that the unbeliever has nothing beyond to look forward to. What a limited, hopeless existence!
There’s a better way to live.
