DEVOTION, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012
“Pointing Beyond”
BY
PASTOR BOB COY
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the
soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.” —Matthew 10:28 (NKJV)
Throughout His ministry, Jesus made it a point to point
people beyond this world. He was constantly sounding an alarm about the eternal
realities they needed to be ready for: that earth wasn’t “it,” that there was a
Heaven and a Hell, and that their current life was best spent preparing for the
next one.
For example, on the point of fearing man, Jesus taught
that we shouldn’t be afraid of those who can only punish in this life, but
instead we should fear God, who can punish us in eternity.
What’s He saying here? He isn’t just telling His audience
to be afraid of God. He’s telling them to recognize the fact that eternal
reality should take priority over the earthly reality.
How foolish it would be to live your temporal life in a
way that only sets you up to suffer eternal consequences. No one wants to sign
up for that. But the reality is that the daily grind of life on earth can dull
people’s sensitivity to eternity. So Jesus reminds them to look past man and to
look to God. If you’re going to fear someone, fear Him!
His warning to them is His warning to us, as well. We’re
also in danger of making the same mistake they made…the mistake of not having
an eternal perspective on our existence. When that happens, our judgments,
convictions, and actions become based on the short-term.
Wisdom dictates that we base these things in view of
eternity. So, receive Christ’s warning, and recognize that this life is best
spent preparing for the next one.
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for
a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14 (NKJV)
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