A Thought

“Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

“Oh, when will it all end???” We ask ourselves as we are pulled and pushed in so many different directions for so many different persons in our lives when there will ever be time for us to just sit quietly. When will someone do for us all that we’ve done for them?? When is it MY time??

This is when it is important to learn something from cultures different from our own. The Amish, for instance, don’t seem to have such problems as we have; and their world is not so overwhelmed that they cannot – or will not – stop and take time for sanctuary, for quiet, for respite, for Sabbath. And the entire community pitches in whenever a neighbor is in need of special care because it is not one person’s “job” – it is the community’s “privilege” to be able and willing to serve. It is what distinguishes the people of the Lord from the rest of the world that is running in too many different directions trying to please too many different people and trying to do too many different things. It is not unlike a dog that chases its own tail; he’s having a good time doing it, but in the end he’s the only one that gets bit! What is funnier still is that when the dog does finally catch his tail, he seems not to realize that he is the source of his own pain!

It is ok to enjoy the pleasures of the natural world and it is certainly ok to enjoy our loved ones; but not to the exclusion of those who need us. For our faith calls us to look beyond what is right in front of us, and our religion reminds us that we are even now in the midst of our eternity – for people of faith shall never taste death! So let us learn to focus on the things that matter, the things that endure. And let us learn to embrace our faith communities in which we all “bear one another’s burdens” so that no single person is so overwhelmed.

We are people of eternity. We endure because our faith sustains us beyond the moment … for we know the moment will pass into the next.