Remembering Who Comes and Stays Forever, Rather than What Comes and Goes
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
What did you receive for Christmas last year?
Did you have a decent week with the family or work this time 4 years ago?
What was the Panthers record at this time last year, who won the Superbowl 7 years ago, and what was the important national debate in which the politicians, newspapers and TV were losing their heads in early December in the year 2008?
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away.
If you knew any of the answers to these questions, I would be pretty impressed.
And my point isn’t for you to be thinking about or googling the past SuperBowl winners (it was the New York Giants, by the way, who defeated the evil empire of Brady and Belicheck’s New England Patriots.)
The point is how quickly so many things come and then go.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Heaven and earth will pass away.
Do you know how broad that claim of Christ is?
All is vanity the writer of Ecclesiastes concludes. And that’s not to say that all things are bad. Far from it. In his search, he discovers many things that are good – God given good. What the writer finds is how quickly things fade away.
Some spend their lives becoming smarter and gaining knowledge. That’s good. Do that! But also be mindful that Alzheimer’s and dementia can slowly take that away, and head injuries and most certainly death can quickly take away – like a thief in the night.
Some spend their lives devoting themselves to working hard. That’s good. Do that! But don’t stake your honor and glory on that. Don’t despair if the hard work doesn’t pay off in the results you want.
Work hard, gain knowledge, do good, yes!
Others, though, spend their lives simply entertaining themselves, or gorging themselves on food, or seeking pleasure in sex outside of marriage, drinking in excess or to feel numb, or using drugs to forget about the cares of this life. Dissipations – drunkeness, Jesus says.
For what? A moment of feeling good? A moment of escape from the bad?
A brief time when it seems like you can run away from the troubles and people and responsibilities of this life only to wake up with the troubles and people and responsibilities still there, but now you wasted your time, burned bridges to people who really care about you, or at least frustrated them again, and now you don’t feel good, too!
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
the cares of this life – this life, this life, this life, all about this life – but there’s another life, a more fulfilling life, a life in which things last and don’t just fly away, a life in which something comes, but stays forever.
Care about that life, more!
Seek first that life!
Like the life Advent emphasizes –
Christ has come to give you that life.
Christ is coming to give you that life.
Christ will come again to bring you to that life forever.
Christ came and became weighed down with your sin and bore them to His cross, so that you might have the freedom of no guilt, no shame before God. The life He gives you is true and pure freedom.
His commandments, His Words, are not burdensome, St. John tells us.
You may not remember what you received from Christmas last year, but you are always called to remember, to be stirred up in remembrance, about the life you have in Christ, in your baptism, in this Word preached to you.
His Word will not pass away and you are in the Word made flesh. Baptized into Him!
His Word will not pass away and His Word pierces you like a double edge sword and convicts you of your sin and bring the healing of His life and forgiveness.
His Word will not pass away and is written so that as things come and go, as people you know die, as you suffer and struggle with the temptations of this world, your flesh, and the devil, you might have hope that will not put you to shame.
Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragements of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:1).
My Words will not pass away
The Words that you are hearing and singing and praying today for your instruction and encouragement and endurance and life, you will be rejoicing in and receiving comfort in and peace in forever.
Remember what comes to an end and remember what doesn’t come to an end.
Our Lord Jesus makes a list of what will be coming to end:
There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.
If the sun, which provides us warmth and light, is coming to an end – how much more will the electricity which gives us our heat and TV’s and computers and phones come to end.
Instead, treasure most the Words of Jesus that will not pass away – those Words that we do well to pay attention to as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
He was cast into your darkness to bring you to the life of His marvelous light.
If the stars which used to provide direction to those traveling are coming to an end – how much more will our cars and roads and planes be coming to an end. Instead, treasure the One who guides your feet while you run this race. This race calls for endurance and focus.
This race is run with the One whose feet were nailed to a cross when your enemies of sin, death, and devil, became His enemies. Those enemies are underneath His feet. He has won. You know the end of this race.
If the nations are going to be in perplexity, how much more should we not lose our heads over what is happening in this nation, or in our bank account, or in our body, or in anything.
Instead, we pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done with Him who sweated blood for us.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away.
God help us today and always to be mindful of what that all includes, of what all comes and then goes, and to treasure most Him who came, and comes, and will come again –
For He and His Words do not pass away.