LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JANUARY 02, 2024.

SUBJECT : LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT!

Memory verse: For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow." (Job 8 vs 9.)

READ: Hebrews 11 vs 13 - 16:

11:13: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

11:14: For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 

11:15: And truly if they have had called to mind that country from which they have come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 

11:16: But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

INTIMATION:

Life on earth is the period between birth and death. And because it has a beginning and an end, it is temporary, and not permanent. The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as He sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am." (Psalm 39 vs 4.)

Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. We're just passing through. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, "I am a stranger in the earth…"    

(Psalm 119 vs 19.) As believers, we are "sojourners and pilgrims" (First James 2 vs 11) in this world, because our real home is with God. Our true loyalty should be to our citizenship in heaven, not to our citizenship here, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3 vs 20.)

Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet. Believers identity is in eternity. At death you won't leave home; you'll go home. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery.

God warned us not to get too attached to what's around us because it's temporary, "For the form of this world is passing away" (First Corinthians 7 vs 31). The cares of this world; financial security, self actualization, worldly happiness, marriage, and so on, are not the ultimate goal of life. As much as possible, we should live unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved in burdensome life activities that might keep you from doing God's work.

Have you ever imagined why human wants are insatiable? This is because this earth is not our ultimate home. In our home, there are no wants, therefore, there is no insatiableness. And the fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life with longings that can never be fulfilled on this earth which is not our final home; we were created for something much better. 

This truth about life should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your actions. It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner. In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until you get to heaven for the rest of the chapters. 

An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, "But my child, you're not home yet."

A fish will never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God planned for you. You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last?"

Prayer: Abba Father, engrace me to live here on earth with the reality of the temporal nature of life, and be eternity conscious, living to please You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!