1 Corinthians 7:29-31 - This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
I have a confession to make: I have not checked my retirement account since the stock market tanked at the beginning of the pandemic. I don't intend to, either—not until enough time has gone by that things start to recover and I won't panic when I see how much I've lost. It's the first time in my life I've had a retirement account, and I don't want to turn it into an idol—to build my trust and hope for the future on something that, as we all know now, can pass away.
That is what Paul is talking about when he tells us to live as if we did not have all the life situations we actually do have. Good or bad, all of those things are passing away. Even the longest marriage comes to an end; money, goods, health, pleasure, even grief doesn't last forever. One day all those things will disappear. It is not safe to trust our hearts to them—not our whole hearts, as we do to Jesus Christ.
He is the only One who will never pass away—who will never let us down or leave us. He is the One who died for us once, to rescue us from the power of death and to bring us into God's everlasting kingdom. And now that He has risen from the dead, we don't need to fear that we will ever lose Him. He is with us forever, and we will be with Him forever—sharing the same eternal life He has, because we trust in Him. We are His and He is ours—and that will never pass away.
THE PRAYER: Lord, everything around me is passing away. Help me to cling to You, who will never pass away. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. What is one loss you have faced this past year, big or little?
2. How do you find hope and help in God when you suffer loss?
3. What is God keeping for you, that will never pass away?
Today's Bible Readings: Job 30-31 Matthew 13:31-58
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