Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Welcome to another week of the year 2020. And I pray that the kindness of God will make life sweet and pleasant for you all through the week, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
As we begin this new week, I want to remind you that, regardless of how sweet and pleasant this world is for us, there is a far better place that God has prepared for those who love Him. And regadless of how horrible this world may seem to be for us, there is a far worse place that God has prepared for the devil and all haters of God. Therefore, we must see to it that we do not allow our dealings with this world and the things in it to rob us of that wonderful place in eternity that God has prepared for us.
Our Lord Jesus, once while teaching the people, said, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matt 16:26) That means we can’t ever compare the value of this world and all its beauties and grandeur to the worth of a soul before God. While this world is bound to perish and be no more, every human soul that God has made lives on forever. So, even if all this world is given to you, you will still lose it someday.
Satan, for instance, has this whole world and its systems under his power, to whatever degree God has allowed it (Luke 4:5-7; 1John 5:19). Yet it is certain that he is going to lose it and forfeit himself in the the lake of fire forever, when God is set to establish His eternal kingdom (Rev 20:10). In like manner, even if anyone gained the whole world, he would surely lose all of it someday, for it is a world that is reserved for fire and destruction (2Pet 3:10).
But gaining the whole world is not even the issue. I mean that having all the beautiful things of this world and enjoying yourself with them is not the issue. The issue is for us to make sure that whatever we gain in this world is not at the cost of our souls. In other words, we should not allow those beautiful relationships, jobs, vehicles, offices and so forth to steal from us our place in God’s eternal kingdom. That is because when all those things are eventually gone, and they will certainly be gone someday, we will still be standing.
Where, then, are we going to be standing on that day and with whom are we going to be standing? Are we going to be standing with God in His eternal home of rest or with the devil in the eternal home of pains and distress that God has prepared for him? It all depends on how we relate to God now in this world. If we take Him more seriously than the world and everything in it, then, we will be with Him throughout eternity. But if we take the world more seriously than Him, then, we are going to be suffering together with the devil and his angels for eternity.
Similarly, it is not just about losing the whole world; it is also about our reason for losing it. If we fail to have or enjoy the beautiful things of this world because we want to gain God and His eternal home, then, we have done well and are blessed. But if we fail to have or enjoy these things because of our own foolishness or laziness in living or because Satan really has us, then, it would only spell a double loss for us. And this is why we must pay attention to what our dealings with the things of this world will do to our place in eternity and act according to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which say, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matt 5:29-30NIV)
Now this does not mean we are to literally remove our eyes or cut off parts of our body, just because we don’t want to miss God’s eternal rest. Doing such things will not necessarily accomplish want we want. At least, there are blind, deaf and lame persons that are nothing but little demons, even with their handicaps. What the Lord is saying, then, is that, if need be, we must ruthlessly deal with whatever is trying to make us lose what God has prepared for us and send us to hell. And I pray that your heart will be taught to identify all such things and also strengthened to do the needful by the wisdom of the Spirit of God in handling them.
Do have a fabulous week.
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By: J.O. Lawal | Date: July 12, 2020 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 9, No. 9