Dear Friends,

There is a verse I love in II Corinthians 4. Verse 17 says, “for momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” Do you see the contrast?  Momentary versus eternal, light versus weight, affliction versus glory. God offers us an eternal weight of glory in return for our momentary, light affliction.

I’m not sure about you, but my momentary, light afflictions in following Christ’s call on my life don’t always feel like a walk in the park! However, in God’s eternal viewpoint and by His eternal measurement, those sacrifices and challenges are the momentary, light afflictions that are getting our spiritual shoulders in shape to bear the weight of eternal glory… of something much greater than we could imagine.

In 1977, Sheldon Vanauken wrote a book entitled “A Severe Mercy,” which chronicled the author’s interaction with his faith as he faced the loss of his beloved wife.  His momentary, light affliction was heavy, indeed. The title of the book is compelling to me, as so much of what we live through as believers in Christ falls under the category of severe mercy.

I’ll close today with a quote from “A Severe Mercy” that tells how our souls were made for eternity. “How strange that we cannot love time.  It spoils our loveliest moments. Nothing quite comes up to expectations because of it. We alone: animals, so far as we can see, are unaware of time, untroubled. Time is their natural environment. Why do we sense that it is not ours? C.S. Lewis…asked how it was that I, as a product of a materialistic universe, was not at home there. ‘Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or would not always be, purely aquatic creatures?’ Then, if we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest? It suggests that we have not always been or will not always be purely temporal creatures. It suggests that we were created for eternity. Not only are we harried by time, we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it… We aren’t adapted to it, not at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home.”

I pray that, as you count the cost, you also consider the weight of glory that will await in your eternal home.

Blessings, 

Ron