Passover: An Event of Great Importance for Us All

You’re probably familiar with the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, “The Last Supper,” completed in 1498. The exquisite mural is displayed at a former monastery in Milan, Italy, with limited public viewing. However, many of us have seen reproductions in homes, churches, museums, and other public settings. I remember my mom having a framed, lighted copy that hung in our living room when I was a boy.

 

Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"
(Wikipedia image)

The da Vinci masterpiece depicts Jesus Christ and His 12 disciples just moments after He announced that one of them would be betraying Him. As familiar as that emotional scene has become in Western culture, many of us aren’t nearly as familiar with its context. 

Jesus with His closest followers had gathered in a large upper room in Jerusalem to observe the traditional Passover Seder, the annual commemoration of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, ending four centuries of slavery. Wine, bitter herbs and unleavened bread all were – and still are – among elements used to symbolize that momentous event, with traditional prayers and blessings recited during the meal.

 

Besides Jesus’ announcement of His impending betrayal, probably the most notable part of that gathering was His striking departure from the standard Seder “script.” After taking the unleavened bread, giving thanks, and breaking it, Jesus stated, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The disciples might have wondered, ‘What’s He saying?’

 

Then, after the supper was completed, He took the cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). Again, looks of bewilderment must have filled the disciples’ faces. ‘What?!’ In both statements, Jesus was declaring Himself to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. At the time the disciples might not have understood His meaning, but within days they would. 

 

For instance, one prophecy the disciples would have recognized was Isaiah 53:5-7, “He was pierced through for our transgressions…. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” We see this manifested during Jesus’ mock trial and His crucifixion. The Roman officials marveled that Jesus did not protest or offer a defense. And He was literally pierced on the cross – His hands, feet, and side.

 

The “new covenant” of which Jesus spoke referred to Jeremiah 31:31,33-34, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…. I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people…. For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.” No longer would animal sacrifices be required for the sins of the people. Christ paid the price – for all, and for all time.

 

As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:10-11, “The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We owed a debt we could not pay – and Christ paid the debt He did not owe.

 

Having this perspective can bring new understanding and appreciation of the sacrament of communion regularly observed in Christian churches and denominations. We eat the morsel of unleavened bread which represents Christ’s body given for us, and we drink the fruit of the vine which represents Jesus’ blood shed to cleanse us from the impurities of sin. But rarely do we realize that this sacred practice was instituted during a Jewish feast, the Passover Seder. 

 

We “Gentiles” might not observe Passover and may never have witnessed or participated in a Seder meal, but in many respects they’re as important for us as they are for faithful Jews who take part in them. The next time you gaze at a photo of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic “The Last Supper,” think about Jesus and His disciples engaging in their final Seder meal together.

 

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end at that table – or at the cross. It proceeds to the now-empty tomb, heralding Jesus’ resurrection from the dead which we observe every Easter. Because of this we can join with Paul in declaring, “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

 

As followers of Christ have declared through the centuries, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”

Taking a Brief Look at Life’s Brevity

One of the wonders of the English language is how a single word can take on a variety of meanings. Take the word love for example: We can love a spouse, child, friend, job, sports team, a vacation spot, TV show, car, God, and a host of other things – and in each case, mean something different.

 

Another of those “multi-meaning” words is the word brief. An attorney can compile a legal brief that is anything but brief. We might stop by a friend or relative’s home for a brief visit, which could mean a few minutes or a couple hours. If someone needs to tell us something important, they might preface with the words, “I’ll be brief.” When making a choice of men’s underwear, the option is “boxers or…briefs.” 

 

And then there’s “brief” in terms of the perspective we might have on life, whether it’s our own or someone else’s. An advantage – or liability, depending on how you look at it – of advancing into adult years is an appreciation of how brief earthly life really is. When we’re young, as adolescents or teens, senior adulthood seems like an eternity away. Then one day we realize how quickly years have passed.

 

Looking back, we might marvel at how much of our lives we’ve spent on frivolous pursuits – hours, days and years that are gone forever, never to be recaptured. Perhaps this is one reason King David of Israel wrote so eloquently, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath…” (Psalm 39:4-6).

 

Does this sound pessimistic? Perhaps, but I’m more inclined to regard it as realistic. As we get older, the years which once seemed to pass so slowly begin picking up pace, a year seeming to conclude almost as soon as it started.

 

Reading the early chapters of Genesis, we see that in the first human generations, people’s lives amazingly spanned centuries. Adam, we’re told, lived to be 930. His son, Seth, lived to the ripe old age of 912. Other men with names like Enosh, Kenan, Mahalelel and Jared each lived well beyond 900 years. Methuselah was the oldest of them all, dying when he was 969 years old, according to the Scriptures.

 

Can you imagine having been born in, say, the year 1096 and still being alive today? Boggles the mind, doesn’t it? Alas, folks today don’t live nearly that long; we might not want to even if we could. More people do seem to be living past 100 these days, but that’s still a mere fraction of the lifespans of the earliest Genesis generations. Sooner or later, our earthly tenure will come to an end.

 

Which brings us back to David’s solemn petition: “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end…how fleeting is my life…. Each man’s life is but a breath….” If that’s true, in light of the whole scheme of time, space and eternity, how should we respond? 

 

Basically we have two options: We can take a fatalistic approach, echoing the writer of Ecclesiastes, assumed by most to be King Solomon of Israel, who suggested, “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him – for this is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 5:18). 

 

Or we can strive to identify our strengths and gifts, seeking to maximize them for the benefit of those we love, as well as those we encounter from day to day, and doing what we can to advance the cause of Jesus Christ for as long as God enables us. 

The apostle Paul exhorted first-century believers, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise by as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). This continues to be excellent advice for all who follow Christ in the 21^st century. “Tempus fugit,” as the Romans used to say – “Time flies.” It’s brief. We’d be wise to invest it, capitalizing on every opportunity that presents itself. 

Trying to Be Worry-Free in a Worrisome World

How would you rate yourself on the “worry scale”? Are you one of the fortunate few who don’t have a care in the world, unaffected by anything that happens to you or around you? If so, congratulations. Maybe you should write a book to tell us your secret.

 

The rest of us, however, classify as worriers to one extent or another. After all, we live in a worrisome world. Some are able to limit their worrying to extraordinary things – like an asteroid colliding with the earth, an earthquake causing California to sink into the Pacific, or a volcano erupting in Omaha, Neb. For the rest of us, worries come in all shapes and sizes, about anything and everything.

Growing up, my mom was a world-class worrier. If there was something she could think of to worry about, she did. If there was nothing to worry about, she worried about that. I remember one day sitting next to her and in my vast teenaged wisdom, declaring, “Mom, if worrying did any good, I’d sit right here and worry twice as hard as you do.” 

 

Of course, most teenagers can seem oblivious to how things can affect their little worlds. At that age they typically echo the famous words of MAD magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman, dating back to the mid-1950s: “What, me worry?” As we get older, we discover there’s plenty of things to worry about. This can lead to an affliction sometimes known as “worry warts.”

 

The COVID pandemic served as a perfect example. Especially during the early months, no one knew for sure what the world was dealing with. Would it prove to be on the scale of the Black Plague or bubonic plague, the Ebola virus, or something even worse? Fearing the worst, many of us social-distanced, quarantined, face-masked, got the jabs (at least the first one or two), and did just about everything the “experts” were recommending. National worry soared to an all-time high.

 

Thankfully those concerns have faded for most people, but that hasn’t stopped us from thinking of other stuff to worry about. We’d like to sing the little ditty of years past, “Don’t worry. Be happy,” but that seems much easier said than done.

 

Melanie Greenberg, a clinical psychologist and author of The Stress-Proof Brain, posits that 85% of the things we worry about never happen. Apparently, we’re conjuring up a lot of unnecessary mental stress and distress. Someone might argue, “Yeah, but what about the 15% of things that do happen? How do we tell which is which?”

 

I’m certainly not immune to worrying, but I have learned that rather than trying to know the unknowable – which things are truly worth worrying about – it’s a better plan to learn how to release our worries in the first place.

 

The Bible is filled with admonitions to exercise our faith in God rather than worrying about things beyond our control, but two brief passages in particular have served me well over the years. You might be familiar with one or both, but given our propensity for worry, they’re worth revisiting from time to time.

 

Philippians 4:6-7 exhorts, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The New Living Translation puts it this way: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.”

 

Things we can justify worrying about – the upcoming Presidential and Congressional elections; inflation; global pandemics; threats of war; severe weather events, among others – are beyond our control, so why squander our emotional energy trying to figure out what can be done about them? Faith in the Lord means trusting that He is in control, He’s not surprised when adverse circumstances arise, and He’s fully capable of handling them – as He has throughout human history.

 

Instead of worrying and letting anxiety build, we can pray and submit our concerns and needs to God, expressing thankfulness in advance for what He’s going to do. Years ago, when I was facing open-heart surgery, the first couple of days were filled with anxiety. But as I prayed, committing my situation, my family and my future to Him, I truly experienced “the peace that surpasses all comprehension.” That has been the case for me and my family more times than I could count.

 

The other verse that immediately comes to mind is 1 Peter 5:7, which urges us to “Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you.” It’s a simple but sound advice from the Scriptures. Whether it’s a serious health diagnosis, an overwhelming financial problem, family issues, or any of many other possibilities, knowing God is not only in control but also that He loves us and desires the best for us can lift the load of worry off our shoulders and place it on His more than able shoulders.

 

To amend Alfred E. Neuman’s quotation, we can declare, ‘What, me worry? I’ve handed all my worries to God. He can handle them a lot better than I can.”

Refusing to Let Familiarity Breed Complacency

A centuries-old adage declares “familiarity breeds contempt.” This essentially means the more time spent with someone or something the easier it is to become aware of faults and deficiencies, even to the point of becoming resentful or scornful. Upon closer inspection, warts aren’t all that attractive. 

 

I’d propose a corollary to that saying: Familiarity breeds complacency. For a simple example, consider the human thumb. Known scientifically as the “opposable thumb,” it’s distinctive because when the thumb is placed opposite the fingers on the same hand, it allows us to grasp, handle and manipulate objects. Pretty cool, but when was the last time you said, ‘Thank God for my thumbs’?

Years ago, I gained a new appreciation for my right thumb. Heavy traffic I was driving in suddenly came to a stop. Looking in my rearview mirror, I saw the car in back of mine approaching much too fast. Unable to move out of the way, I did the only thing I could think of in that instant. I hit the car horn as hard as I could – with my thumb. The vehicle behind me came to a screeching halt, but my thumb screamed with pain. I had sprained it in the process.

 

Over the next several weeks while my thumb was healing, even the most mundane tasks proved challenging: Turning a doorknob, opening a soft drink bottle, picking things up. My complacency toward my thumb because of lifelong familiarity quickly dissipated. My appreciation level for having opposable thumbs soared.

 

Sadly, something similar to this happens in many marriages. When couples marry, they excitedly exchange “I do’s” – public declarations of their commitment to one another. As the years pass, however, the devotion and fervor they felt in the beginning fades. They become “used to one another” and start taking one another for granted, becoming complacent.

 

If we’re not careful, we can experience the complacency of familiarity with careers, getting an education, pursuing hobbies, even with our faith. 

 

Part of the problem is short memories. We forget why we felt so enthused initially. What if husbands and wives annually on their anniversaries would repeat their vows as a reminder of their promises before God? It could also help to revisit why they decided to get married in the first place, recognizing what was so special about the person they pledged to share a lifetime with. Chances are those qualities are still there; they’re just buried under a pile of complacency.

 

The phenomenon of spiritual complacency is addressed often in the Bible. The Israelites had a special knack for forgetting the blessings God had bestowed on them, starting with their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. This is one reason so much emphasis was placed on memorizing the holy writings. Annual festivals – including the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Ingathering – were celebrated each year to help them remember what the Lord had done for them.  

 

In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist writes, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” By “hiding” the Scriptures in our hearts, we not only remember God’s commands, but also His promises, principles for everyday living, and the great things He has done.

 

The New Testament gives us many reminders to help us in keeping fresh what can become so familiar. At this season of the year, much is preached and written about the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We could easily say, ‘Oh, I’ve heard that before – many times.’ Maybe, but the truths, realities and ramifications of Jesus’ sacrificial death, the empty tomb and His being raised from the dead are far too important for us to neglect through complacency.

 

We’re exhorted in Hebrews 12:1-3, “let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

The so-called “Christian life” isn’t easy, contrary to what some would want us to believe. And our contemporary culture is showing increasing animosity toward Christianity and the One who declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

 

If we’re followers of Jesus, we must beware of the trap of letting familiarity with our faith fall into complacency. As Ephesians 1:3 admonishes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” By striving to keep our faith invigorated, we’ll never grow tired of reveling in each of our spiritual blessings.

A Notable Time When Politics and Faith Intersected

This being another Presidential election year, it seems appropriate to consider something that happened nearly 50 years ago. A new term burst upon the American psyche: “born again.” This came about during the 1976 Presidential campaign when surprise candidate Jimmy Carter declared during numerous interviews that he was a “born-again Christian.”

 

That comment, among others, ignited a media frenzy as political reporters and commentators scrambled for a better handle on the then-Georgia governor seeking the nation’s highest office. Other Presidents and candidates had been known for their religious affiliations, but perhaps never as publicly and boldly as Carter. Meanwhile, the term “born again” soon took on a life of its own.

 

Many people lacked understanding of the phrase or where it had originated, but that didn’t stop marketers from latching onto it for promoting their products, using it as a label for anything innovative. Suddenly we were hearing and reading about ‘born-again cars,’ ‘born-again businesses,’ ‘born-again strategies,’ even ‘born-again churches.’ A vital biblical term turned into an overused cliché devoid of its essential meaning. 

 

Thankfully, hucksterism hasn’t diminished even slightly the spiritual significance of being born again. We first encounter it in the Scriptures when Jesus Christ was approached by a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council. Nicodemus desired to get acquainted with this individual he’d heard so much about but wasn’t inclined to do so openly. So, he had requested a private meeting at night.

 

In the biblical account, Nicodemus quickly got to his purpose for meeting Jesus. “Rabbi, we know you as a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Seems like a reasonable question, right?

 

As was so often the case, Jesus did a sort of “end-around” in responding. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’” (John 3:3). There’s the term – “born again” – and perhaps like the reporters interviewing Jimmy Carter, a confused look must have appeared on Nicodemus's face.

 

He asked, “‘How can a man be born again when he is old?... Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’” Jesus gave a straight-forward answer: ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, “You must be born again’…” (John 3:4-7).

 

Being a true follower of Christ means to be twice-born – born physically, and born again spiritually. This is why the apostle Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Committing one’s life to Jesus doesn’t mean adopting a new philosophy or ideology; it means receiving a new life. The life of Christ living in us by His Spirit.

 

References to being born again don’t end with the gospel of John. In 1 Peter 1:3 the apostle once known as Simon writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” If anyone understood what it meant to be born again, it was the one-time fisherman Simon/Peter.

 

He addresses this once more in the same chapter: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

 

This does seem to raise a different question, however. Is there a difference between being a Christian and a born-again Christian as President Carter phrased it? Can one be a Christian without being born again? I would contend – as would many others – that the Bible teaches they are one and the same. To use both terms together is redundant. It’s like talking about a canine dog, a feline cat, or a time-keeping clock. 

 

The late Rev. Billy Graham wrote about this, asserting, “Just as surely as God implants the life cell in the tiny seed that produces the mighty oak, and as surely as He instills the heartbeat in the life of the tiny infant yet unborn; as surely as He puts motion into the planets, stars, and heavenly bodies, He implants His divine life in people’s hearts who earnestly seek Him through Christ. This is not conjecture; it is a fact. Has this happened to you? Have you been twice born? You see, the Bible says that unless we have this new birth, we are unfit for the Kingdom of God.”

 

One of the strongest biblical statements about this is Romans 6:4, in which Paul explains, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” It is this new life that empowers us to live as the Lord commands.

This Easter Season, What Will We Do with Jesus?

Do you know any “groupies”? We don’t hear the term as much these days, but there have always been folks who were more than avid fans of singers, bands or other types of entertainers. With an almost fanatical obsession, they go out of their way to attend the concerts and performances of their “idols” as often as they can. Perhaps at one time or another you’ve been one of them?

Being in the midst of the Lenten season, with Palm Sunday coming up, followed by Good Friday and Easter, it seems appropriate to give some special consideration to the One who’s the focus of this special season, Jesus Christ. Can you believe He also had His groupies?

 

Almost from the start of His public ministry, Jesus became one of those individuals who attracted devoted fans, some who were genuinely touched by His teachings and others who were simply curious, or wanted to witness firsthand one of the miracles they had heard He was performing. Everywhere people were talking about Him. Whenever they heard reports that Jesus was coming their region, crowds flocked to be near Him. Like lost sheep, they wanted to know who He was, what He had to say, and what He would do. Jesus, we might say, was the hottest ticket in town.

 

But fans can be very fickle, whether they’re following a celebrated entertainer, a sports team, or even politicians. All gung-ho one day, but angry and disenchanted the next. Perhaps you’ve experienced that yourself. The ardor exhibited by many of Jesus’ followers proved short-lived as well. If He failed to meet their expectations or didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear, they turned on Him. 

 

This is why Luke 4:28 tells us, “[they] drove Him out of the town…so that they could throw Him down the cliff.” They tried, but that didn’t happen. The passage goes on, “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” Jesus had avoided what the old TV comedy show “Laugh-In” called, “the flying fickle finger of fate.” He simply moved on to another town.

 

In another of the gospels we read that after Jesus had made some difficult pronouncements, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (John 6:66). In their eyes, Jesus went from hero to zero. Folks can be quite fickle if their ears you do not tickle.

 

“Well, I would never do that!” some might argue defensively. That’s easy to say when things are going well, but what about when things aren’t so good, when we’re confronted with unexpected challenges or adversity in any of its many unpleasant forms. And our prayers seem to go unanswered, as if Jesus doesn’t care. What do we do with Him then?

 

We know from the Scriptures that Jesus proved to be many things: preacher and teacher, prophet, liberator, healer, and restorer. He’s all of that – and much more. He willingly went to the cross, died for our sins, was buried, and then came back to life so He could prove to be our Savior, Redeemer and Lord. In His own words, Jesus demonstrated He is indeed, “the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).

 

Sounds like good news, right! But we find a word of caution early in John’s gospel: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Salvation – forgiveness of our sins, redemption and an eternal relationship with God – can’t be earned. It’s a gift, totally unmerited and undeserved. But there’s one “condition” – this gift must be received. Have we truly done that – received Jesus Christ and believed in His name, not just intellectually but trusting Him with our whole heart? 

 

It’s easy to become satisfied with religion – doing good things and saying the right words – without really letting Jesus to have all of us. But He doesn’t want just part of us. He doesn’t want our “religion.” He wants to have an unending, life-changing relationship with us.

So, the question that confronted the hot-and-cold multitudes of Jesus’ day remains the same question we must answer today: What will we do with Jesus? Are we just fans, or are we true followers?  

Wondering What Heaven Is Really Like

“Heaven.” When you hear that word, what comes to mind? Billowy clouds? Angels flitting around playing harps? “Pearly gates,” in front of which someone holding a giant book listing who gets in and who doesn’t? Streets made of gold?

The suppositions could go on, but no one knows for certain what heaven will be like. This question might not be foremost in our thoughts during a typical day, but it does arise from time to time, especially when someone we know departs from this life. At such times we often hear – and might even say ourselves – that he or she is in a “better place.” But have you ever wondered what that better place is really like?

 

The Bible gives us some clues, particularly in the book of Revelation, but it can be hard to determine what descriptions are factual and which are figurative. Even Jesus Christ during His time on earth didn’t offer a lot of specifics, although He did provide assurances that it’s a very special place. 

 

One day, not long before His crucifixion, Jesus consoled His disciples by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). The King James Version uses the term “mansions” instead of “rooms,” but we know for certain the Lord has reserved a special place for each of us. 

 

Maybe one reason biblical descriptions of heaven might seem vague is because our finite, temporal minds couldn’t begin to grasp the infinite, eternal delights of heaven: “No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Think about seeing firsthand some natural wonder we’ve only heard described or seen via a two-dimensional photograph, and then multiply that sense of awe about a million times.

 

One reality of getting older is knowing more and more people who are no longer living. In the past several months, several friends I knew well have died. After years of waiting for “the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), their faith has become sight. Causes one to wonder what they’re experiencing right now on what I like to call, “the other side of eternity.”

 

Have you ever been away on a lengthy trip and felt so happy when you finally arrived back home? We might find this physical world familiar and comfortable, but the Bible indicates when we arrive in heaven, we’ll know we’re finally home. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). 

 

We might be proud of our national heritage, but for followers of Jesus, our true citizenship isn’t here. As the old gospel song proclaims, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through…. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

 

Even though we typically perceive death as the enemy, God doesn’t see it that way when it comes to His children. I often think of Psalm 116:15, which caused a doubletake the first time I read it: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” ‘Precious? Are you kidding me?’ we’re tempted to ask. However, for God it’s precious indeed, because His children are finally coming home – forever.

 

The apostle Paul, who had more than his share of near-death experiences before being martyred for his faith, offered this view: “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). After his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus and becoming one of the most influential leaders of the early Church, Paul knew the best was yet to come.

 

Quite a few authors have been bold enough to write entire books about what they think heaven will be like. And there’s much more we could consider directly from the Scriptures. But for now, perhaps it’s best to continue looking through the eyes of faith, trusting that even in the most difficult times, “our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). 

Coping With the Perplexing Perils of Prosperity

We all have experienced difficulties in many forms – financial struggles; health challenges; ongoing family conflicts; emergencies occurring at absolutely the worst possible times; working hard toward a desired goal only to see it elude our grasp and never come to fruition. But tough times build tough people, right? Out of necessity, we learn how to cope with adversity.  

But what about prosperity? How good are we at dealing with times when everything seems to be going well?

That might seem strange to ask. We love the good times. To borrow the musical stanza from the Ira Gershwin opera, “Porgy and Bess,” what’s not to like about “Summertime, when the livin’ is easy”? 

 

But in reality, the way we handle and process prosperity might be a greater and more accurate test of character than adversity. Because during hard times, unless we simply give up, we do whatever it takes to survive and make it past the crisis. We turn on our internal survival mechanism and shift into high gear. Prosperity, on the other hand, can trigger positive or negative responses.

 

There are countless stories of people who fought hard to reach the heights of their vocation – including entertainers, athletes, business executives, politicians, other public figures – only to suffer tragic tumbles from grace. They couldn’t handle success. Sadly, this has proved true as well for some who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.

 

Reading a devotional by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great British preacher of the mid-to-late 1800s, brought this to mind. Referring to a statement by the apostle Paul, Spurgeon observed:

“There are many who know ‘how to be abased,’ who have not learned ‘how to abound.’ When they are set on the top of a pinnacle, their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian far more often disgraces his profession in prosperity than in adversity…. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the Christian than the refining pot of prosperity…. When (Paul) had much, he knew how to use it. Abundant grace enabled him to bear abundant prosperity.”

 

Spurgeon was referring to Philippians 4:12, in which Paul told of having to “learn” how to deal times when he was prospering, both personally and in ministry. He wrote, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Another translation expresses the apostle’s sentiments a bit differently: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

 

Throughout history people have wrestled with what we might term the “peril of prosperity.” Throughout the Old Testament we read about the Israelites, God’s chosen people, who cried out to the Lord in times of distress only to give Him little thought when things seemed to be going smoothly. Despite their religious rituals, they lived as “practical atheists,” until the next calamity reminded them of how desperately they needed to rely on God. They were abominably slow learners.

 

In a collection of proverbs in the Bible, written by someone known as “Agur son of Jakeh,” we read this cautionary request: “…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9).

 

Another verse in the same Old Testament book also notes how difficult it can be to deal appropriately with success and acclaim: “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives” (Proverbs 27:21). Apparently, we learn to pass this test with time and experience.

 

During times of difficulty many of us are quick to turn to God, pleading for His intervention and resolution of our problems. But how many of us are equally eager to acknowledge and humbly deflect to Him any praise we receive when things “couldn’t be better” and all seems right in our world? Are we prepared to pass the “test” then?