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 An
illusion of permanence is the senior citizen of seventy-five
negotiating for a thirty-year home loan. It is the combat
soldier who knows nothing can happen to him because his
“guaranteed-for-life” pen is still writing like new. It is
the aging grand- mother who exchanges her dignity for the “fashion”
of miniskirts and gaudy paint. It is the wealthy farmer of Luke
12 who, shortly before his unexpected demise, was thinking in
terms of “many years” while planning a future that did not
include God. It is every Felix who seeks a more convenient
season in which to obey the Lord. It is all who live as if they
anticipated an almost indefinite earthly existence. Few escape
the beguiling effects wrought by these illusions of permanence.
But
the Bible dispels these illusions. God describes man’s earthly
tenure in such terms as “shadow”, “season”, and “vapor”
— words calculated to discourage our feeling “at home” in
the body. As One more concerned with our eternal welfare than
with our earthly comforts and prosperity, He teaches that “a
man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which
he
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possesseth” (Lk. 12:15); that here we
are but pilgrims without an abiding city (1 Pet. 2:11; Heb. 13:
14). David’s perspective is essential: “Lord, make me to
know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I
may know how frail I am” (Ps. 39:4).
However,
many, though professing otherwise, seemingly prefer illusions to
truth. They remind me of the merchant who erects a large and
expensive neon sign to advertise his “Going- Out- Of- Business”
sale — you doubt that he is. Similarly, some who talk of
preparing for eternity show big signs of planning to be in
business on this old earth for “many years”. Investments of
time, talents and resources reveal where one’s treasure is —
and his heart (Matt. 6:19-21).
The
farmer’s illusions of permanence were shattered with these
words: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of
thee. ..“. The time of this day is best redeemed in
remembering that “this night” is never far from any mortal.
Dan S. Shipley
[Previous:
vol.7, no.12, p.8]
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