Liberated by Eternity
D. Scott Meadows
Life can be a burden—not only things we typically consider burdensome, but also blessings like family, being able to pay the bills, and the bustle of a full life. Even these things can become occasions of excessive concern or distraction. A constant focus on such temporary things leaves the soul parched and dry.
Earthly experiences are legitimate, to be sure, but as Christians we are called to keep a proper perspective and thus to moderate our griefs and pleasures in the light of eternity. To feel as if this life is all there is would be to lose touch with reality and to betray the truth revealed by God. As the wise man said, “Rejoice, young person, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desire of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment. Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting” (Eccl 11.9, 10 CSB).
To foster such wisdom in Christians, Paul wrote,
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; 31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you without carefulness (1 Cor 7.29-32a).
This is a biblical basis for the good advice, popularly stated this way:
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
This is God’s will for us. It is immensely helpful for us, both psychologically and practically, to live for His glory above all.
Little Time Left (29a)
“The time is short.” In this context, the sense is that you do not have much longer to live in this world, no matter your age now or at death. If you’re only ten and will live to a hundred, the time is short. A young person looking forward sometimes feels they shall live forever, but the oldest person looking back will tell you that time flies by. As each decade passes, they say, “Ten years ago seems like only yesterday.” “What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas 4.14). If we come to realize, even while we are still in this world, that “the time is short,” how much shorter will it have seemed to us in the next life! We all have little time left in this world. It is crucially important to remember that.
Less Important Things like Marriage, Happiness, and Possessions (29b-30)
Ask most people what are some of the biggest things in life and they will say things like family, good times with friends, and fortune. Others will list things they value most like health, achieving goals, realizing dreams, and helping others.
That is why Paul’s choice of earthly things to diminish here is so striking to us. He is not saying they are insignificant, but that they are temporary and therefore less important than things that are eternal. We’ve all known those whose life, at least for a time, revolves around deciding whether to marry and then finding a spouse. Maybe you’ve even been that person. We’ve all wept and we’ve all rejoiced, but whatever the occasion was, eventually, it passes. How much of the human experience involves wanting to acquire the next thing we think we must have, getting and enjoying it, and then realizing it’s only a thing, after all.
By the Holy Spirit’s prompting and guidance, Paul describes the future for everyone. The day is coming when it really won’t matter one bit whether you ever married or not, or wept or not, or rejoiced or not, or
possessed things or not.
Liberating Counsel (31, 32a)
The difficult phrase that begins verse 31 was explained in this way by Martin Luther: Christians should use what is available [in this world] but “not sink too deeply into it either with love and desire or suffering and boredom, but should rather behave like guests on earth, using everything for a short time because of need” (cited by Thiselton in NIGTC). Another explains it, “Those who make use of the things of this world should not be engrossed in them, overlooking the transitoriness of earthly things and the importance of what is eternal” (Leon Morris, TNTC). The reason for this is stated plainly by Paul. “The fashion of this world passeth away.” Things are only as they are now for a very short, fleeting time. This reinforces his earlier axiom, “the time is short.”
From all this comes an extremely practical application for believers burdened with so many temporal concerns and distracted by so many earthly experiences. “I would have you without carefulness,” or, “I want you to be free from anxieties” (ESV). This pastoral heart of concern is a revelation of God’s love for His children! “There, there, My little ones, it will all be over so soon, and you will enter into rest!”
An old fellow down home was asked, “What is your favorite verse of Scripture?” After some thought he said, “I reckon it’s, ‘And it came to pass.’ With all the trouble I’ve had recently, I’m sure glad it didn’t say, ‘And it came to stay’” (copied). We can say “it came to pass” about every temporal experience of this earthly life. The joys reserved for Christians in eternity will overwhelm our remembrance of this life.” He shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart” (Eccl 5.10). Let the hope of this future, eternal joy liberate you from the burdens of this life, both the good and the bad. Amen.
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The following books by D. Scott Meadows are available at Trinity Book Service and Cristianismo Histórico:
Ebook: A Call to Pure Worship | D. Scott Meadows