It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”
With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we
know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us
with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your
benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause
thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though
outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For
our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all. (II Corinthians 4:13-17)
Let’s begin with what I am not saying
today. I am not saying that pain is trivial, insignificant, or easy. I am
saying that it is temporary. Death is temporary, too. We begin dying the day we
are conceived and the process continues until our bodies cease to function. In
between, living means facing pain, struggles, and death. If, somehow, you’ve
managed to not learn this yet in your life, I’m sorry because at some point
soon, you can probably expect a rude awakening.
Christianity doesn’t promise that the
moment you become a Christian, all that dying and pain go away. It promises
that all that dying and pain are temporary. Somewhere, I read that – according to
scientists – if the nearly 14 billion years[1]
the universe has been around were a 24 hour day, that mankind has been around
for the equivalent of a few seconds. Using the same concept, if the universe is
7000 years old, then a 70 year lifespan is like 15 minutes by that same
measure. What if we compare the 70 year lifespan to eternity?
The death and pain that I wrote
about facing as I walked across the parking lot to my old job? It’s gone. I’m
sure it had an effect in my life, but I don’t face it any more. The pain in my
leg that has plagued me for the past week? It’s not as bad as it was five days
ago. The people who have been cruel to me for the most part either are no
longer a part of my life, or the cruelty has stopped, or I’ve gotten stronger.
As
I think about my life as 15 minutes out of 24 hours, or the split second compared
to eternity, I can’t help but think about the eternity part. I have tended to
think that one of the joys of heaven will be to listen to the stories and
lectures of so many thought-filled people from earth. How many times do would
you want to focus on what happened during one difficult second of your day when
the rest was perfect? I may have the joy of listening to those lectures, but I
suspect David won’t recount slaying Goliath. I don’t know that Paul will
mention his shipwrecks, beatings, or debates. Perhaps most amazingly, I suspect
Jesus won’t say much about the Crucifixion. (For the joy set before Him, He
endured the cross.) That’s not to say that these things didn’t matter, but that
they were temporary.
When I’m in pain, the world tends to shrink down to that pain. One of
the things that I’ve read that helps someone who is in pain is to be help them
see beyond the pain. One way to do that for yourself is to think with eternity
in mind. Most people can live with pain for a few minutes. It may seem like a
lifetime, but it’s not.
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