I am sixty-one years old. The model year on this old soul of mine is 1963. If I have our statistics correct, at least half of the readership of our devotional blog just sighed and said,
“What a young punk.”
Well, wait till you hear the next thing I have to say. My body is starting to tell me that I am not eighteen anymore. I can almost hear the readership yell,
“Rookie. You haven’t seen anything yet. Wait till you are my age. Then, you will know about aches and pains.”
Got it! Nonetheless, things are not working as well as they used to. It happens to all of us. An ache here, a torn meniscus there, hearing loss, compressed disc, and let’s not even mention receding hairline. These were the things that popped into my mind when I read these words in my devotions this week. Paul writes,
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away,
our inner nature is being renewed every day.
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things
that are seen but to the things that are unseen;
for the things that are seen are transient,
but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Paul sums all of the losses of this life up in a gentle phrase, “slight momentary affliction.” Paul gives the afflictions of the day about the same attention he would give a bad haircut. He looks at us as if to say, “Don’t worry about it. It won’t last long. It’s not that big of a deal. Get over it.”
Paul had a gift that I have not entirely perfected. I need to work on it. But perhaps you do, too. No matter what was happening in the life of Paul, he was able to keep one eye on heaven. Though his body was firmly rooted in earthly and temporal affliction, his soul seemed to walk in heaven’s hallways. So, we hear things like this from him:
1. Our inner nature is being renewed every day.
2. God is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
3. We look to things that are unseen and eternal.
4. Do not lose heart.
Paul guides us to the gentle reminder that we live in the shadow of heaven’s greatness, which will soon be upon us. Don’t blink. It is just around the corner. It will be here in the morning. And when heaven’s greatness arrives, Paul is sure of one thing. The troubles of this life will seem like slight momentary afflictions.
Have a great week!
Pastor Corey