Dust and Ash

Fact: eventually, the dominion of mankind will end. All the work we've done to build civilizations; everything we've ever done to build a lasting legacy; all the monuments to our conquering of nature, or gravity, or plain ol' adversity... all of it will fade away. Gone. Turned to dust. Everything that has a beginning has an end; this is the way of nature.

But.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:23-25a)

It's amazing to think about it, but the Word of God is indeed Eternal. It is without beginning, written by God since before Time began, and breathed into the world of men through the lungs of prophets and sinners. The Word of God, personified by Christ, the Salvation of Man, endures forever. 

Think of the implications of 1 Peter, Chapter 1. God has taken man, finite and small, and lifted him -- lifted us! -- out of our mortal existence, and into His eternal one! 

Those stresses we have day to day? That constant struggle to make something significant of ourselves on this world? Ultimately, it's meaningless. The greatness of nations, the legacy of kings, all of human history is dust and ash when stacked against Eternity with the Creator.

So the question I must ask myself, then, is for what purpose do I strive in my daily life? Am I working for things that are temporary? Or is my focus on the Eternal? Am I building my own glory, which will whither and fall like the flowers of the field; or am I concerning myself with the Glory and Word of the Lord, which endures forever?

Get Ready

Pre-, post-, or amillennial ... when it comes to the end of days, what we don't know -- or at least what we don't agree on -- could probably fill more books than the entire Left Behind series. Including spin-offs.

But, and this is important, I don't think God requires that we all agree on exactly how He's going to accomplish his Ultimate Will. He's going to do what He's going to do, regardless of how you, I, or anyone thinks it's going to happen. More vital is that we are now and always ready for Him to move, however He's going to do it.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:1-13)

Are you ready? Are you loving as He has loved? Are you going into the world and teaching His gospel, telling everyone of His great love and mercy? Are you prayerfully going about your day, in communication with the Father? Are you living your life in such a way that God is, even now, pleased with what you do with what He has given you? 

Get ready. Get right. And then, get to work. When He returns, however He does so, whenever He does so, it will be a glory the likes of which you and I have never even imagined. So be watchful, and be ready. You won't want to miss it!