2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
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Think of the sufferings of Paul. This man had been stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, beaten, plotted against, and mistreated in numerous ways. He had suffered hunger, thirst, nakedness, and all sorts of deprivations. He experienced sorrow after sorrow, as he was abandoned by friends and as he heard reports of friends suffering.
In the light of just some of Paul’s sufferings, look again at the verses above. He considers this “light momentary affliction” as nothing in comparison to the weight of glory that awaits him. How could Paul possibly call his sufferings light? How could he possibly act as though the scars on his body and the pain in his soul are merely afflictions to be shrugged off? There is only one way, and that way includes a proper understanding of the glory of God that is to come.
The way that Paul lived and you and I can live, in such a way as to overcome suffering and pain is by grasping the greatness, the beauty, the true weight of glory in Christ. We live in a world that is just a flash in the pan of eternity. Our sufferings, even if they last us years, are but a mere blink of an eye on an eternal scale. Our pains, though they may be seemingly insurmountable are in actuality only little tiny discomforts when compared to the massive, unbelievable, unending glories that await us in the presence of Christ.
Imagine this if you will: You receive a letter from a long lost dead relative’s lawyer. In that letter, you find out that you are due to inherit your relative’s $10 million fortune. There is only one catch; your relative was a former big league baseball player, and, as a bit of an odd guy, demands that you stand and take a 90 mph fastball in the ribs in order to receive the money. Folks, a 90 mph fastball will definitely hurt; but it will not do you lasting damage (set aside odd special circumstances here for the sake of illustration). Would you endure a few minutes of pain and a few days of rubbing a bruise in order to receive the $10 million? I think that almost any of us would say, “Of course I would. I’d never let a few minutes of pain keep me from such a great prize.” And that is exactly Paul’s point. This life may involve pain, great pain. But in the scheme of eternity, it is only a few minutes of pain, and the prize far outweighs anything we can suffer in the here and now.
These verses show us a truly eternal perspective. If we grasp such a view of life, we will be able to live, to suffer, to rejoice, to weep, to praise, and to do whatever God calls us to with a true heart set on him. Let us not be lulled into a false view that says that this life is all there is. God created us to experience his glory in eternity. Let us live for that, which far outweighs everything in the here and now.
Pastor Travis Peterson 