Many of us have had the joy of snow recently. Here in North Wilkesboro, we had about 9 inches fall just before Christmas. We are now a few days into the New Year, and there is still snow on the ground out my window. (It's a good thing they have this global warming thing going on, huh? Just imagine how cold it would be otherwise :) ). Anyway, I was studying a passage from the Bible recently, and the Lord gave me a very timely analogy.
I Peter 1:4 says that the Lord has called us to a priceless inheritance that is kept for us in Heaven. It is pure and undefiled and safe from change and corruption. How awesome is that? I wonder how many of us really appreciate this inheritance and live our lives with it in view? Picture this with me, if you will: imagine that we are all waiting to be taken on a Caribbean vacation. We are gathered in a field wearing our bathing suits, snorkels and flip flops. We are carrying our sunscreen, beach towels and water toys, and we are waiting for our ride. We are excited about our vacation, but there is one small problem: the field we are in is covered in snow.
Here we are all dressed and ready for a vacation in the Bahamas, but we are standing knee deep in freezing snow! Now imagine that the Lord shows up in a nice jet to fly us to our Caribbean destination. However, instead of boarding the jet, we begin making snowmen and doing our best to keep the snow from melting.
As I pictured this in my mind, I began to realize the absurdity of such a thing. Why would anyone who had been prepared for a Caribbean vacation waste their time trying to keep the snow from melting in the field where they are waiting. Why would people wearing bathing suits be content to play in the snow when they could have their toes in warm, blue water? However, I have been just this absurd. In the natural, I enjoy the snow and I have plans to make many snowmen with my kids, but let's look at this analogy from an eternal perspective. Everytime we sacrifice our eternal, priceless inheritance to keep a little bit of what is temporary, we are trying to keep the snow from melting. In this life, we can build for ourselves the nicest snowman, but it will melt. We can build the best reputation for ourselves, and secure for ourselves the best title and position, but in the end, these will be just a black top hat, a red scarf, a few lumps of coal and a carrot laying in a puddle of water. However, whatever we build for the Lord will last forever. If we make His Kingdom our pursuit, and seek to make His name famous, we will begin to enter in to our eternal, priceless inheritance. Isn't that what we all want? Let's let the snow melt!
I Peter 1:4 says that the Lord has called us to a priceless inheritance that is kept for us in Heaven. It is pure and undefiled and safe from change and corruption. How awesome is that? I wonder how many of us really appreciate this inheritance and live our lives with it in view? Picture this with me, if you will: imagine that we are all waiting to be taken on a Caribbean vacation. We are gathered in a field wearing our bathing suits, snorkels and flip flops. We are carrying our sunscreen, beach towels and water toys, and we are waiting for our ride. We are excited about our vacation, but there is one small problem: the field we are in is covered in snow.
Here we are all dressed and ready for a vacation in the Bahamas, but we are standing knee deep in freezing snow! Now imagine that the Lord shows up in a nice jet to fly us to our Caribbean destination. However, instead of boarding the jet, we begin making snowmen and doing our best to keep the snow from melting.
As I pictured this in my mind, I began to realize the absurdity of such a thing. Why would anyone who had been prepared for a Caribbean vacation waste their time trying to keep the snow from melting in the field where they are waiting. Why would people wearing bathing suits be content to play in the snow when they could have their toes in warm, blue water? However, I have been just this absurd. In the natural, I enjoy the snow and I have plans to make many snowmen with my kids, but let's look at this analogy from an eternal perspective. Everytime we sacrifice our eternal, priceless inheritance to keep a little bit of what is temporary, we are trying to keep the snow from melting. In this life, we can build for ourselves the nicest snowman, but it will melt. We can build the best reputation for ourselves, and secure for ourselves the best title and position, but in the end, these will be just a black top hat, a red scarf, a few lumps of coal and a carrot laying in a puddle of water. However, whatever we build for the Lord will last forever. If we make His Kingdom our pursuit, and seek to make His name famous, we will begin to enter in to our eternal, priceless inheritance. Isn't that what we all want? Let's let the snow melt!
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