James 4:14The scriptures consistently teach that the natural life of humanity is fleeting. Isaiah wrote that our lives were as quickly passed as the grass in the field that is only green for a short season (Is. 40:6-8). James wrote that our lives were like the morning fog that quickly passes when the sun comes out. Other scriptural texts concur that life is short and not guaranteed. Even in the secular world, Kerry Livgren wrote the familiar lyrics that speak of the natural life. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.
(14) How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone.
Let me suggest another illustration about natural life:
The natural life of humankind is two dimensional.What do I mean by two dimensional? I mean that our lives are like a photograph, being only a two dimensional image. There is nothing behind the photo, and nothing in front either. We delude ourselves into speaking of our past and future as if we possessed them. But in reality, all we possess of the future are hopes and dreams. And all we possess of the past are memories, which fade every day. In this, we are no different from any other animal that takes its living moment by moment as the Creator grants it.
Would you challenge this? Then I challenge you to go back in time and correct the mistakes and regrets you carry today. You can't do it, because the past doesn't belong to you. Only memories remain--but like a photo, they fade over time.
And though you may consider yourself a strong willed and motivated person to bend the future to your will, the testimony of countless millions is that the future never turns out like we planned it. This is because the future doesn't belong to the natural man. Whether we acknowledge the influence of fate or Divine Providence, rarely, if ever has a successful person in the twilight of life looked back and said, That's just the way I planned it to happen.
The words of this poem were found etched on an ancient sundial without a signature, and speak of this dilemma.
The shadow of my finger cast
Divides the future from the past;
Before it stands the unborn hour
In darkness and beyond thy power;
Behind its unreturning line
The vanished hour, no longer thine
One hour alone is in thy hands
The now on which the shadow stands.
Take heart though! We were intended for more than the natural life. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul:
Colossians 3:1-4To Paul, our old two dimensional life was something to be laid down in order to receive the fullness of eternal life with Christ. The natural life's grand purpose was to give us opportunity to lay hold of real life. Consider that a life without Christ is merely a token--a shadowy picture that may hint at the life that Christ has reserved for believers. And the most valuable commodity that any person owns is the now on which the hourglass shadow stands, when we are given the chance to lay hold of eternal life.
(1) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.
(2) Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
(3) For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
(4) And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.
Paul said that the believer's real life is hidden with Christ in God. This means that as the unbelieving world did not recognize Christ, neither do they recognize the nobility and royalty that is latent within the soul of a true believer. Unfortunately, sometimes neither do we of the Christian community recognize it within our brothers and sisters.
I do not recall the exact wording, but I remember that my favorite author C.S. Lewis said something along these lines. Lewis wrote that we should be very careful to maintain respect and honor among believers, because if we were to meet a believer in their glorified state, we would be tempted to fall down and worship them--just as John fell down to worship the revelatory angel who was afterwards revealed to be a glorified human (Rev. 22:9). And while in this life we may not always be aware of the glory and honor that is given as the heritage of the saints, in the eternal now of God, His children are already full of glory.
I am thankful that God in His wonderful grace caused me to know the futility and transiency of the natural life, and showed me that there was a solid, three dimensional eternal life to be had in Christ. I still cannot change my past, but I am satisfied that my past has been redeemed to the glory of God. Now, through the marvelous work of God, those regrettable days of my past become part of my ongoing testimony of His power to save.
And while I still confess that I have little genuine control over my future, this does not worry me because I realize that my future is secure in Christ--I have surrendered my plans to him, and He is taking me to places that I don't know about yet. I do not know yet exactly what I will be in eternity--but the process of following Christ takes me closer to that knowledge every day. Ultimately, I look forward to the great day when Christ is revealed to the world, and I appear with him in the glory that He purchased for me!
