The most ignored reality

Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 6:7  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. ⁸ If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

Application: This passage is most likely one of the most sobering truths in all the scripture. It states a reality that all know, but most try to ignore. It is the same reason why so many individuals avoid funerals. When we are confronted with the fact that we are finite beings, we look for ways to not face that. Whether it be busyness, leisure or intellectual pursuits, anything that will keep our mind from having to reflect on this reality. This passage gives us the harsh reality that; the only thing that lasts out of all of our life is us! Our riches, our looks, our fame all remain here. We cannot even control what our memory will be, everything is out of our hands, even how our body is disposed of. We can write what we want, but there is no guarantee that our wishes will be followed. 

The funny thing is, if you give it some thought, this should be the most liberating truth to any believer. What matters for eternity is not the stuff you acquired during your journey down here. The Pharaohs may have thought that all the gold, jewels, food and even people that they placed in their giant tombs may have kept them company and comforted them in the afterlife, but a millisecond after they breathed their last, they were one on one with their Maker, with nothing but who they became in this  life on earth.  No title or position, not even awards for great things, join you at that meeting. This should cause us to rejoice! All of us have the same opportunity to invest in eternity, no matter our station in life. We come in as a creation of God, and that is how we leave. The question is: along this journey did we become a new creation? If we did, we should look forward to that appointment! God Himself will examine what we have allowed Him to create in us. Not our bank account, not our statues, trophies, or lack there of. He will be looking at our heart and how much it has conformed to look like Jesus. Let us not be concerned with what our outside world looks like, we leave that here, it is our inside world that counts! Father, grant us Your wisdom to invest our lives in that which is eternal!

Meditation Questions: When you are gone, what will people remember the most about you, what you had or what you were? How many people in your circle of life know the “real” you, warts and all? Looking at your life, how much energy do you spending “getting” versus “becoming”? What does that show you about your life?  If you knew you were going to meet with the Lord today how would that make you feel? Why? Are you ready? If not, what do you need to do? If you are, are you making the most of your time while your on your way?