Writing to his missionary daughter, Jack Miller once said,
There is nothing that can clear the vision faster than the discovery that all things are temporary and so am I. So what I do with my life should center on working with matters that will remain unshaken at the return of the Lord Jesus. Get a good view of the temporaries of life and – believe it or not – you will enjoy it more. When we get our footsies so mired down in time that we think it is eternal, we become subject to all the ups and downs, the vagaries, of time. Our loves are so easily disturbed because we are loving only what is changing and finally will be replaced altogether.
My prayer: Father, allow me to see my life from your perspective and to do anything I do for your glory. The temptation of self and the lie that it will please is a constant pit that I fall into regularly. Allow me to escape this foolish finite mindset and be free to live in your grace and honor the name of the One that has saved me and called me to His victorious service.
Let me be as Paul called Timothy to live: 1 Timothy 6:11–12 “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
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We all act as children when we “live in the moment rather than take the long-view of things”; in fact we’re acting as babies when we cannot differentiate between the temporary and that which is eternal and are controlled by our own desires (1 Corinth 3:1-3). As Christians we do start out as weak babies, and then we learn to crawl, then walk and run. The goal should not be to barely make it through the pearly gates. Maturity should be our goal, with Jesus as our model of maturity, because we are more useful to God when we have grown in His teachings. Jesus spent a lot of time teaching and training His disciples even though He was going to die for their sins and ours. And I think it is because He knew that once we were born in Him, we would also have to grow up in Him. Sadly, many Christians never move beyond the foundational teachings of salvation through Christ, repentance and faith. As followers of Christ we should not only know and remember these foundations but also build on them (Hebrews 6:1). Spiritual maturity (His sanctifying work in us) is a process that takes time, patience and diligence, both on our part and His. On our part, it takes studying, pondering and obeying the Word of God, yielding to His gentle workings in our life with humility and joy, fellowshipping with mature Christians, spending time in earnest prayer. Those who seek maturity in their spiritual life should make their walk with God a top priority. Family, work, friends, school and yes, entertainment will all have to be secondary. It will feel like a fight – but with God’s help, let us fight the good fight!
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