16 Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Caleb Knight

Sometimes life just feels like a hard slog. Pressures, stresses, problems, concerns, issues, and responsibilities all just pile up. We follow a victorious and glorious risen Lord! And yet, my life doesn’t always feel all that victorious or glorious. And I’m guessing that I’m not the only one.

Now, my natural instinct when life is hard is to complain, to feel sorry for myself or sometimes even to feel proud of how well I’m doing amidst the difficulty. But none of these are the responses that Paul encourages in these verses.

When we seem to be outwardly wasting away (we’re losing our health, our money, our friends, etc.), Paul says to remember that inwardly, we are being renewed in the likeness of our saviour. I find this a really helpful corrective. Rather than focusing on the earthly, outward things that waste away, I can look to the person the Holy Spirit is making me into every day.

Similarly, when life is full of trouble, I need to remember the eternal glory that is to come! Reading this verse, I pictured a see-saw with a little pebble on one end and a mountain being dropped on the other end. When my troubles (which seem big, difficult and hard to fix) are compared to the eternal glory that is waiting for me, there is no comparison. People say nothing lasts forever but that’s not technically true. Difficulty in life doesn’t last forever, but the glory awaiting Christians does.

And so, I need to look at the invisible. Not on the troubles of life that are easy to see, but in the midst of the troubles, the pain and grief and difficulty, look to the future – to the eternal glory that is ours in Christ. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caleb is one of our Student Ministers.