If you are a Christian, the words of Revelation 21 should never age: “And every tear shall be wiped out of your eyes, and death shall no longer exist, there shall be no more mourning, no more mourning, no pain, for the first things have passed. ? (Rev. 21. 4) Whatever the period of your life, this great promise is extremely relevant.
I recently read these words with a new believer that I have as a pastor in the latter stages of life. When I finished reading, I prayed and said, “Don’t worry, Carol, it won’t be long before this brief period of suffering. it is replaced by an eternity of joy, to worship Jesus. “
- Soon after.
- Carol returned to fame.
- Looking at him.
- I remembered the previous four weeks.
- I thought about how we.
- As a church.
- Spent time by her bed.
- Prayed with her.
- Read her the Bible.
- Talked.
- Laughed and cried with her.
- I felt sad because he was gone.
- But happy because his suffering had stopped.
- I comforted myself and her family by saying.
- “Carol is with Jesus now.
- Is he really in a better place?”.
Almost immediately after saying this, doubts invaded my inner thoughts: Is Carol really there?Is that really what you think, do you really think there’s anything beyond this life?
As a pastor, I preach every week the reality of eternity, keep hope of eternal salvation, and warn people of eternal damnation, I know that every person will spend eternity in god’s presence or outside of Him, this is the most important reality in the world. And the thought of salvation, spending eternity in endless joy with my Savior, is so real to me that it often makes me cry.
Then, after this face-to-face encounter with death, I had to ask myself: why this sudden doubt?
As I prayed and reflected on this, in the weeks after Carol’s death, I became convinced that I was doing exactly what Jesus had said not to do in Matthew 6.
Do not accumulate other treasures for you on earth, where moths and rust corrode and thieves dig and steal; but gather other treasures in heaven, where it does not erode or corrode, and where thieves do not dig or steal; because where is your treasure, there will be your heart too?(Mt 6. 19-21).
I was pastor of a municipal state in Middlesbrough for many years, so I know what: ministering in difficult places can be difficult, disappointing, and daunting. We may be tempted to stop seeking the Lord’s breath and comfort and, instead, seeking them into the world It is very dangerous, but that is exactly what I was doing.
The irony of this is that I thought my walk with God was going well. This corresponded to my personal life of devotion and prayer. My scripture study has increased and my preparation for the sermon has gone much further than in recent times.
However, quantity is not always equal to quality. Although my workload increased, my joy did not increase; for this reason, I sought rewards and comfort in the temporal without the eternal.
A wandering heart is a great danger to anyone involved in the ministry. We like to think we deserve rewards for all the hard work we do. It’s when we start thinking about temporary rewards that our hearts often turn to things like food, drink. , sex or money. And for those who have seen my waist, you know where my first stop is!
In addition to personal distractions, I was also distracted by my ministry. I’ve spent the year traveling the country in search of evangelical associations. I was trying to raise funds and gather prayer support, dreaming and hoping that New Life Church in Middlesbrough could buy the building we were renting, hire our own staff, and build a healthy church.
All these things are wise and pious desires, until their joy depends on them. I began to realize that whenever there was no association, or that funding requests were rejected (which made it very unlikely to purchase the church building), my joy and motivation for ministry diminished.
I was looking for validation, as a church planter, about the temporal things I was trying to build. I thought the church and my role would be validated by bricks and cement, an eye-catching website and a great team of employees. good and useful, but they are temporary and I had forgotten.
Sitting with Carol’s family? I realized that they didn’t care about our construction, our evangelical associations, our team or our website. What they cared about was eternity. They were concerned about the eternal gospel and an eternal Savior, who saved Carol from eternal damnation and now gave them hope and comfort.
It was at this time that God reminded me that almost all my disappointments regarding the establishment of churches occurred when I concentrated and gave my heart to the temporal things of this world. Carol’s faith in her deathbed taught me that no matter what temporary situation we find. in ourselves and whatever finances and resources we have or not, our joy comes not from the temporal, but from the eternal.
If we are to persevere in ministry, we must understand the joy that can only be found by directing our hearts and eyes to heaven. Should we set our eyes on eternity? The eternal gospel that designates an eternal Savior. After all, when our short career on earth ends, eternity will be the most important thing.