“For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)
We live busy lives. It feels like we are juggling between family life, work demands, finances, church and community commitments, and many other things. At times, we face various challenges, including health concerns, relationship issues, career problems, and spiritual dryness, among others. We sometimes think, “When will all these challenges end?”
We must remain focused at all times. We need to remind ourselves that this life is short and temporary, and that all these things are not what we truly desire. Our destiny is with God, where all the stuff we toil for in this life will be gone.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV)
C.S. Lewis calls the world we live in now the Shadowlands. The world is not the real thing – it is only a shadow of what is to come. We should not place all our hopes and attachments in the world, because its form is temporary. We have discovered the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price – a new life in Jesus. The world tempts us with riches, fame, pleasure, and power – all of which will fade away. In a hundred years, it won’t matter how rich we were, how famous, or how much power and pleasure we had – they will be worthless then. What truly matters is where our soul will end up, as there are only two final destinations: heaven or hell.
So, how should we live in the Shadowlands?
Love is what we pursue: love for God and love for our neighbour. Jesus is our role model. It is easy to love those who love us back, but the greatest challenge is to love the unlovable. We should serve in accordance with the talents the Lord has given us.
We should share the Good News with all we know. If we truly love our friends and families, we should give them the best that we have – Jesus. No money or riches can replace eternal life without pain, war and suffering.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)
We should be unattached to anything in this world. We cannot take anything we have worked for in this world with us to where we are going. We enjoy gifts and blessings from God, but we are not to yearn and surrender our hearts to them. Our hearts belong only to God. We should be generous to those in need if we have much more than we need. Many people throughout the world do not eat three square meals a day. Many innocent people are caught in a war and do not have the necessities to live. Many have not heard the Gospel, and one day, all of us will meet our Maker. The best thing we can do for our families and friends is to share Jesus’s love, forgiveness and the promise of salvation.
Living in the Shadowlands entails being always aware of our eternal belonging – we are sons and daughters of God, and we are citizens of heaven. We must remain focused, with our eyes fixed on Jesus, with everything we do. There is an acronym for us to remember: ROT. It means regular repentance (such as daily examination of our conscience), continued obedience to the Lord, and a transformation of our character to become more Christ-like day by day. If any one of these is missing in our walk with the Lord, let us seek the Lord and ask Him to guide us in our journey from this Shadowlands to the real thing – heaven.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
Top image credit: Illustration of a man trying to bring back time, by © Kevin Carden, at ChristianPhotoshops.com. Used with permission.
Tom Caballes was a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom lived with his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] in Wellington, New Zealand.