Day Six: Temp Work

Well, hello! I am back on the not-posting-at-midnight train. All-aboard for not being sleep deprived! Our topic today, kids, is all about how life is short, and then it begins!

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5

(I’m gonna see how many times I can quote from that soliloquy in this series.)

Today’s chapter is entitled “Life Is a Temporary Assignment,” and it completes the list of three metaphors begun in chapter five with life is a test and life is a trust. Here are some of the key takeaways about our lives on earth:

Our stay on earth is short.

When you compare the length of the time we’ll spend on earth to that in Heaven, it is, mathematically, zero (lim t_e / t_h, where t_e is a constant, as t_h → ∞). That doesn’t mean that what we do here isn’t important! In fact, this incredibly short time is the only time that we will be able to spread God’s kingdom to everyone on earth, so we must make the best use of it that we can. However, what it does mean is that you shouldn’t get caught up in all of the things, events, and ideas of this world. That’s because…

Only eternal things are important.

If we’re only going to be here for no amount of time, then nothing that won’t last beyond the boundaries of this world can possibly be important, in the long run (and I do mean long run). Anything that is simply material will cease to be when God destroys this world. In addition, any status you may enjoy on earth that is temporary means nothing. No amount of fame or popularity here on earth will last beyond its time. All of that trivia you’ve gathered about your favorite television show, movie star, or rock band? Truly trivial. When the end of days comes, all of these things will be swept away. Only things that are tied up in God will survive–permanence comes from Him, and Him alone.

Earth is not our home.

Earth is all we’ve ever known. God created it for us, we were born into it, and we will die here as well. But we will not stay dead! Death for us is simply a trip–it is going home, to our real family, where we truly belong. Earth is not our real home. It’s no wonder that we always feel so discontent with life; that it should be better; that we wish things were different. That’s because earth is simply a shadow of things to come! God always wanted us to be in a perfect place, with Him, and we will be.

We are here as temporary ambassadors for God.

But while we’re here on earth, we have a job to do. We are foreign emissaries for God’s kingdom. The world is at war with the nation of God, and we have been sent into the world as messengers of His love. We must be in the world, and be able to operate within the parameters of the culture we live in, in order to properly mediate for God’s kingdom. However, we must not, as ambassadors, forsake our homeland and become one with the enemy. We must not, to use Warren’s words, “fall in love” with the things of this world, preferring them to the things of Heaven. We have been sent on a mission, and when it is complete, we must give a report of what we have accomplished. Let’s not move in, as it were, into the enemy’s home and call it our own. We must be ever thinking of our mission and mindful of the day when it will be over.

I spend so much of my time on temporary things. Things that will have no lasting impact. Things that are, in the grand scheme, worth less than nothing.

God, help me to be ever vigilant for your return, and to spend my short time on earth working for your kingdom, so that I may be able to give good account for myself when you return.

Amen.