Glory Outweighs Sorrow


This week after watching what was falsely reported about some Catholic high school students from Covington, Kentucky, I was reminded that there is more to life than what meets the eye. Much attention is given to all being right with the world. The term “Political Correctness” or “PC” is the catch phrase used these days to describe situations always in popular, upbeat and non-offensive ways. Some politicians in the past 25 years have begun to push the country in a direction that will to put government in charge of making everything for everybody—“OK.” We all want life to be “OK”. The flaw in this expectation is everything is “NOT OK.” That statement doesn’t mean I’m a pessimist or that I only see the glass half empty. It simply means that my expectations for “OK” are not based on what kind of day I’m having or if someone spoke to me in PC terms, but are based on what kind of day it is. My view is: “This is the day the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). God’s Word is clear each day you are given has value—it is “OK.” That means that if the day brings deep sorrow and failure or great joy and success it is a day that God has made—either way there is value. “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” (Psalm 90:12)

Christ-followers, most of our attention is about looking forward, not back. Because looking forward we see what awaits us—a crown, and onward is the goal. The grand object of the eye of our faith is looking to the future with hope, with joy, for comfort, and godly love. Looking into the future we see the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and because of the blood of Jesus Christ are fit to be a participant of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Christ-follower, when you find yourself thinking this day has not been an “OK” day, centering your thoughts on your future in Christ may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. The apostle Paul states that there is more here than meets the eye. “For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

"When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.
Faith's bright vision shall sustain me
Till life's pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last."
       Charles H. Spurgeon



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given...
Read more

Control Yourself

When it comes to our life, we have nothing to say about our birth and little say about our death, but in between these two events most of the decisions are ours to be made. Are you letting life and circumstances control you, or are you controlling your own life and destiny with God’s help. Don't let life pass you by when you have the God-given ability to make things happen. I've heard it said: You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its use. You can't control your facial appearance, but you can control its expression. You can't control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere that surrounds you. You can't control the distance of your head above the ground, but you can control the height of the contents in your head. You can't control the other fellow's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you do not develop similar faults. Why worry about things you cannot cont...
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I ...
Read more