Short Shelf Life

Over the years, I've had to get MRIs from time to time. If you have never had the pleasure of getting one, imagine a torpedo tube on a submarine, you’re the torpedo. On my last MRI, the tech barely made it out of the room before I pushed the little hand buzzer they give you in case you panic. He pulled me back out & asked what was wrong. "I wanted to make sure the buzzer actually worked - carry on.” Once done, like just about every difficult or challenging task we face, it’s easy to look back & declare, “That was a piece of cake!”

Friends, sometimes life can seem like one great big suffocating MRI. Everything can seem like it's either blowing up or caving in. Everywhere we turn, it feels like we see violence or pain or sickness or death. Unfortunately, in life we don’t have a convenient hand buzzer to push to remove us from what is happening all around us.

The Bible tells us that even Jesus endured the shame of the cross for the glory of Heaven that would soon follow. In fact, Jesus LEFT the glory of Heaven for the shame of the cross! Friends, isn't that the point? Jesus left the perfection, the paradise of Heaven to come to a sin cursed world. This may be hard to believe, but it was as cursed then as it is now. But Jesus came to suffer WITH us that He might provide a place FOR us in His Heavenly Kingdom.

What am I saying? This life is but temporary, as are the trials, difficulties, diseases, acts of senseless violence, injustices, broken relationships & on & on the list goes, for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ. That is why the Bible speaks so often in the New Testament of “enduring”, “in due time”, “patience”, “running your race”, etc… You see this life, the good & the bad, is temporal.

So friend, be encouraged & strengthened. What you are experiencing now has a very short shelf life compared to eternity. You're not going through it alone! Almighty God, the very Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, loves you so much that He's chosen to suffer with you for a season. Hang in there, Heaven is just a heartbeat away. Until then, do the most good you can in the time that we have because Jesus is coming!

See you at the finish line!