Looking Beyond

K-Lai — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 18:40:00 -0800

“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 on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

As it has been hashed out before, the Christian life is one full of death. We die every day to our own lives, to our selfishness, our sin, our old way of doing things. However, this death is not one of permanence. We are then reborn, or “born again” as new creations in Christ. This life that is now in us is what motivates us to do good – to love others, think for others, etc. This life is the source of our joy. This life brings us purpose and fulfillment to us. The world is a pale and dim shadow compared to the vibrant view of eternity awaiting for the believer.

Now, the only way to gain this life is by believing into Jesus Christ, a somewhat difficult task. I don’t mean difficult as in intellectually challenging, as though Christianity was illogically based, but it is extremely difficult for someone to admit that they cannot achieve everything on their own, and that they need to depend on someone superior to them. I don’t know about anyone else, but I often have a difficult time acquiescing to those who purport to be better than me. I’m sure everyone knows the type – the cocky, arrogant, “I’m better than you and I know it” type of person that just oozes with condescension. To be honest, those types of people make me angry and defensive, and in a battle of pride we try to duel to win each other’s respect. Now, if I find it difficult to get along with someone like that (I’m not even going to go into what would happen if I were to become this person’s disciple), I think that admitting to a supreme God would be totally difficult. Therefore, while God’s gift is freely offered to everyone, and anyone who believes and has a relationship with Christ is saved, it’s totally understandable that the majority of the world has refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The simplicity of the message prevents so many people from accepting it – Paul says that it’s a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). It confounds the religious, and frustrates the intellectual, because when it comes right down to it, people would rather think that they have to achieve great things than to admit that they are totally helpless.

But I’m getting off the subject. What’s super cool about the very above passage is that the death Christians die to themselves is what leads to that holiness that Christians are becoming. And while everyone goes through troubles in life, Christians seem to have a knack for being more joyful and peaceful about what’s going on in their lives. That’s a major difference between someone who has hope for eternity and someone who doesn’t. The focus of Christians is on God, on the eternal, and from that the old, selfish nature dies and the God-loving, joyful, new self begins to live. And from that, faith becomes real to life, and not simply a philosophy. For Christianity is not a list of beliefs akin to “wishful thinking,” but the offer of an eternal life which is grounded in reality.

In conclusion (I always wanted to do that because it was banned in school), life is and totally needs to be grounded in faith. Without faith, there is no life. And without life, umm, well, it’s not good. Okay, so I lost my train of thought. But, it’s important to see that because of the glory of the life of Jesus Christ, we as Christians do not lose heart. I hope that that glory shines in my life every day.

k-lai.com: Looking Beyond

Looking Beyond