Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “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. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”- 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18
Insight: No one likes to talk about death. It is uncomfortable, and yet we all know it’s unavoidable. It is an outcome that we all must face. The Bible talks alot about death, and gives us the perspective that death is not to be feared for those who are in Christ. It’s actually a transition into a life that will be much more full than anything we can imagine or obtain on this earth. But we tend to focus so much on our physical bodies, what we can see, that we lose track of the main point that it’s our souls, what we can intuitively feel, which are eternal. Our bodies are simply tents, that we are living in as a rental for a short period of time. CS Lewis had a great bit of wisdom and perspective on how we should look at this when he said, “We don’t have a soul, we are a soul. We have a body.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 goes even deeper, talking about how our bodies are perishable, but our souls are imperishable and will live on forever: “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
So, you may be asking, why am I writing about this today and what does it have to do with me and how I live my life? I think the answer is it is my hope that it can greatly impact all of our lives. What if we knew we only had a short time to live, say 6 months. How would we want to spend your time? Would politics and disagreement be something we cared about at all? Would we spend countless time and energy arguing with others, trying to convince them that we are right on a given topic, or would we simply love everyone around us that we care about and enjoy every second we had? Now, what if we could carry that same mindset forward to live life like this even if we are not aware of how much time we have left, which is true for most of us. Could we change the world? Would we live fearlessly, and go do everything we ever wanted to do? Would we love more, and have no time for hate, anger and division? Most people fear death more than anything else, but maybe by better understanding what the Bible says about our physical death, and how it will be a transition into a more meaningful existence, we could begin to live life now with more intentionality, meaning and purpose. Less fear and more fun. Let’s live each day like it’s our last, and see what God can do with it. Let go of grudges, invest in things that help others, love people more than things. Live victoriously, live courageously and live expectantly! Let’s go, start today!
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