Packing what's important
This week is on 2 Peter 3:10-14:
We're lucky enough, as a people, to have a general idea of where we're going, or at least of where things are going in general. Either we're going to live during a time where the world as we know it will be destroyed, or we're going to die some ordinary death and be woken up once all of the fireworks have died down. Whatever happens, our souls are going to survive intact, while everything else we know of is going to disappear. That makes the idea of renting a self-storage unit seem rather silly.
Peter was lucky enough to have hung out with Jesus despite being what we might call a slow learner. Still, Peter is fully aware that we're all going somewhere. This life we've got right now isn't the condition we're going to be in forever. That knowledge should affect our priorities.
When Noah found out what was coming, his priorities were adjusted to focus on building his giant boat, even though his neighbors and friends were continuing with life as normal. For us, our souls are our boats. Our time here is for getting closer to the God and creator we'll be spending eternity with, and for learning to be better people. What good are working extra hours to pay for the fancy sports car and the grandiose extra wing on your house, if you can't use them for any more than the tiny blip of time we spend here on earth? Why not spend those hours on improving your soul? Those improvements are something you can take with you.
Things we have here are comforts, not part of who we are. Our soul is what gets preserved for eternity, installed into an improved body when the new earth is created. Your clothes are not part of your soul. Your physical body is not part of your soul. Your car, ipod, cell phone, fancy plates with Elvis on them, gym membership card, national flag, and collection of fine silver pimp chalices are not part of your soul. All of that stuff disappears as eternity stretches out. If we really are eternal beings, if we believe all of that stuff about Jesus dying so that we can have quality eternal lives, then the only thing we can invest in here that has an eternal payoff is our relationship with God and our investments in who we are in relation to that. Everything else has a rapidly approaching use-by date. You might as well be stockpiling milk for the apocalypse.
We're looking forward to what the future holds for us. Eternity with God is a great destination, no matter what we have to pass through to get there. Imagine packing for a really fun trip that you've been looking forward to for a very long time. That's what we do when we invest in the right things in our lives. Those things are things we can bring with us. Everything else is temporary comfort, like overpriced airport food, or those foil-bagged food replicas you shell out handfuls of change to get from a machine. Nobody pretends that's normal food. But in not investing in the future, that's exactly what we're doing. Right now is temporary. It's an unusual layover in the midst of eternity. Are you going to spend what you've got on stuff you can only enjoy here, stuff that isn't even all that good? Or are you going to invest in what is coming, stuff that you can probably enjoy both here and there?
Make every effort to have a peaceful relationship with God. Make every effort to welcome the changes that would make you a better person. We're already accepted. Why not acquire some things we can cherish together, now and in the future? Stuff like integrity, discipline, selflessness, etc. Those are important things you can pack for eternity. The rest is just ultimately junk.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
We're lucky enough, as a people, to have a general idea of where we're going, or at least of where things are going in general. Either we're going to live during a time where the world as we know it will be destroyed, or we're going to die some ordinary death and be woken up once all of the fireworks have died down. Whatever happens, our souls are going to survive intact, while everything else we know of is going to disappear. That makes the idea of renting a self-storage unit seem rather silly.
Peter was lucky enough to have hung out with Jesus despite being what we might call a slow learner. Still, Peter is fully aware that we're all going somewhere. This life we've got right now isn't the condition we're going to be in forever. That knowledge should affect our priorities.
When Noah found out what was coming, his priorities were adjusted to focus on building his giant boat, even though his neighbors and friends were continuing with life as normal. For us, our souls are our boats. Our time here is for getting closer to the God and creator we'll be spending eternity with, and for learning to be better people. What good are working extra hours to pay for the fancy sports car and the grandiose extra wing on your house, if you can't use them for any more than the tiny blip of time we spend here on earth? Why not spend those hours on improving your soul? Those improvements are something you can take with you.
Things we have here are comforts, not part of who we are. Our soul is what gets preserved for eternity, installed into an improved body when the new earth is created. Your clothes are not part of your soul. Your physical body is not part of your soul. Your car, ipod, cell phone, fancy plates with Elvis on them, gym membership card, national flag, and collection of fine silver pimp chalices are not part of your soul. All of that stuff disappears as eternity stretches out. If we really are eternal beings, if we believe all of that stuff about Jesus dying so that we can have quality eternal lives, then the only thing we can invest in here that has an eternal payoff is our relationship with God and our investments in who we are in relation to that. Everything else has a rapidly approaching use-by date. You might as well be stockpiling milk for the apocalypse.
We're looking forward to what the future holds for us. Eternity with God is a great destination, no matter what we have to pass through to get there. Imagine packing for a really fun trip that you've been looking forward to for a very long time. That's what we do when we invest in the right things in our lives. Those things are things we can bring with us. Everything else is temporary comfort, like overpriced airport food, or those foil-bagged food replicas you shell out handfuls of change to get from a machine. Nobody pretends that's normal food. But in not investing in the future, that's exactly what we're doing. Right now is temporary. It's an unusual layover in the midst of eternity. Are you going to spend what you've got on stuff you can only enjoy here, stuff that isn't even all that good? Or are you going to invest in what is coming, stuff that you can probably enjoy both here and there?
Make every effort to have a peaceful relationship with God. Make every effort to welcome the changes that would make you a better person. We're already accepted. Why not acquire some things we can cherish together, now and in the future? Stuff like integrity, discipline, selflessness, etc. Those are important things you can pack for eternity. The rest is just ultimately junk.
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