February 29, 2008 2 Corinthians 4:8

02/29/2008

2 Corinthians 4:8 - 10 (HCSB)

⁸We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; ⁹we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18 (HCSB)

¹⁶Therefore we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. ¹⁸So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

When I was 12 years old, I was attending a church revival where my father was leading the music. On one particular evening during the service, I felt a call on my life to enter the ministry. I didn’t really understand it at the time, but knew that there was a call on my life for something more. I went forward and announced my decision to follow where God would lead me in the ministry. After the service, several friends of my family invited us to celebrate at a restaurant.

As we sat eating, one fellow spoke up and said something like “It’s good that you’ve made this decision, you will have an easy life.” Those around the table who were in the ministry quickly jumped in to correct that man that the life of a minister is far from easy. But I think the man’s point was more towards the spiritual aspect. Those who seek God more intimately find a greater inner peace.

Indeed, we see this same dichotomy in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. He explains that while things always seem to be against him (and his companions), they are not destroyed in spirit. It would be much easier to give up at times than to continue to endure the resistance, ridicule, and physical peril of spreading the Gospel in the first century.

Like the seaman who spots land in the distance, he will fight against the tide and raging waves to reach land where there is safety. While he is pressing towards the shore, he gives only slight thought to the waters that buffet him. He keeps constant sight of the shore; his destination. We too, must focus on the distance, the eternal. We are not guaranteed a good life here. Indeed, some of my friends who I consider very Godly people, have problems that defy explanation. The truth is, the more Christ-like you become, the more Satan will try to trip you up. But just as Paul says, there is a greater glory waiting for us; that is promised to us.

As we live our lives, let us remember not to focus on the issues and problems that may bombard us now, because we have a hope of a greater life in Christ. Focus on the eternal and the temporal will seem less important.

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