Thoughts as I waste away...

“It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-18)

Tomorrow I head in to the hospital for back surgery. Naturally, the verse that has been going through my head is the one listed above: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” As we age, it becomes more and more obvious that our health, vitality, and youthful appearance are slowly slipping away, never again to be recovered. And not only that, but all else in this world is receding from us like a wave washing back out to sea. Our relationships will eventually come to an end. Our influence on this world will wane. Our finances will be drained. If we live long enough, most of us will one day end up losing even our independence, as we are forced to rely on the hands of strangers to feed and clothe us.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The bottom line is that time and the wasting away of life will reveal where your identity is. If it is in your health, or your relationships, or your image, or your independence, or anything else, you will eventually discover that it is placed on a surface that is slowly eroding. But if your life is in Christ, if your identity is in Him, then, as Paul says, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). You may be outwardly wasting away, but inwardly you are being renewed day by day, as God’s Spirit refines you into the image of Christ, removing your sin and replacing it with His life.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

With every passing year, the beauty and joy of eternity becomes more appealing. All that has wasted away in this world will be not be forever lost. As Paul wrote, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). One day the blind will see perfectly, the lame will dance, and the deaf will hear. The injured knees will bend perfectly, and the bad backs will be completely healed. More importantly, the sinful nature will be forever destroyed, and we will be with God forever.

So, brothers, and sisters, fix your eyes on what is unseen! Look to Christ, who is your life! Hope in eternity, where you will experience joy that no one has ever dreamed of! All that you see and experience in this world is only temporary. It will not last, and it will not plague you forever. But that which is in Christ – the love, the joy, the life – that will be yours forever. Amen.