One of the things I enjoy the most about going offshore fishing is leaving the dock early in the morning right at the crack of dawn. As we head offshore through the turquoise water to the deep blue I enjoy looking back at the foamy wake and the trail that the powerful engines leave. The spray literally glistens as the boat glides along pushing neat rows of white water aside.
The interesting thing is that the ever-churning sea quickly covers it back up and soon it is as though it was never there and is swallowed up and reclaimed by the sea. This reminds me of so many things in the world that so many of humankind hold dear. The beautiful people, no matter how many face lifts or how hard they work out will eventually succumb to the fading that comes with old age and that old face just sags and gives way. The powerful will become weak and frail, the beautiful mansions, fancy cars, gorgeous furnishings, and all the material things fade away and become “retro” as they all run their course and finally just disappear.
This phenomenon and facing old age would be a very gloomy outlook if it were not for the hope that lies in Jesus. The Bible tells us that the righteous carve the name of Jesus in a solid rock. The hymn, Rock of Ages, and its words tell us of an unfailing source of strength, an “everlasting strength,” that comes only from God.
The great evangelist Spurgeon once wrote, “The righteous man plows furrows of earth and sows and has a harvest here which shall never be fully reaped until he enters the enjoyments of eternity.”
My earthly father loved his garden, and I was his “forced labor” to help plant it and keep it weeded. It was hard work which I had an aversion to in my youth. The harvest of fresh vegetables and vine ripened tomatoes were nice but short-lived and gone long before he knew it, however the harvest that is the result of the seeds we sow for the Kingdom of God last throughout eternity. It is hard work that pays never-ending benefits.
Make the most of your time on this planet but build your hopes and dreams upon the Rock of Jesus with whom you will spend eternity. This world and all that is in it is nothing more than shifting sand that the hot wind will blow away sooner rather than later. It is not the reason you are here . . . I have no doubt that the Lord wants us to enjoy our time here on earth, but it is not our primary mission. Fulfilling our purpose and for God to have fellowship with us are the primary reasons that God created us…There will be no sagging faces in heaven.
Matthew 6:19
Your earthly treasures will fade away but your heavenly treasures will be everlasting.