What Will Last?

By Our Daily Bread

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:18

I have a friend who was denied a doctorate from a prestigious West Coast university because of his Christian worldview. As he was approaching the conclusion of his studies, his advisor invited him to come into his office and informed him that his dissertation had been rejected.

My friend’s first thought was of thousands of dollars and 5 years of his life taking flight, and his heart sank. But then he thought of the words of the hymn by Rhea Miller: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather be His than have riches untold; . . . I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.” And then my friend laughed—for he realized that nothing of eternal value had been lost.

How we respond to loss is all a matter of perspective. One person is absorbed with the permanent; the other with the passing. One stores up treasure in heaven; the other accumulates it here on earth. One stays with a difficult marriage because heaven is on ahead; another moves out and looks for happiness in another mate. While one believes that happiness is found in being rich and famous, Christ’s followers are willing to suffer poverty, hunger, indignity, and shame because of “the glory that will be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1).

Wouldn’t you “rather have Jesus”?

Living only for temporary gain leads to eternal loss.