Thank God This World is Not Our Home
I am not a fan of this world. We received news a while back that one of our children’s friends from 4-H in Los Angeles died of a drug overdose (Fentanyl). Yes, death awaits us all, but make no mistake — death is an enemy to everyone.
Before we die there is much strife with others. Sin is a tireless master, and even if our days are many in this world, they cause us to be weary and tired. One of my mother’s repeated quips at age 90 was, “Getting old is not for sissies.” Thus, there is little prospect of life actually improving when so much is positioned to resist one’s progress…ending in death.
It is essential for us to receive proper instruction in these matters, and Christians can delight in the knowledge of the truth about them, but they must be practically lived out, nonetheless. No one escapes hardship because we all sin and suffer consequences. We are the product of sin, and our nature is sin — disobedience against our God, who is holy (Eph 2:3).
What is Mother’s Day weekend like when your child dies from a drug overdose? How do you survive the holidays? How does one ever recover from such tragedy? My mother lost two of her three children to death by disease, before her own end to a contagious virus that ravaged her skilled nursing center (Covid-19). Our demise is sure and eternity awaits both the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you are conceived and born, your lot is suffering. You will have trouble in diverse ways and degrees. It will come at times, unexpected and inconvenient. You may prepare for the rainy day, but you will get wet somehow. The longer we live, the more pronounced are personal sins, and the more susceptible we are to being caught up in the sins of others.
There is no masking our demise. Our reality is futility, and despite our best efforts at attaining meaning, significance, influence or even prominence, the fact is we are chasing after the wind. Even one’s attempts to escape reality prove futile, as in the case of this young man, who I am sure had “a bright future.”
We must not succumb to those who will sell us something “that will change our life.” That is expensive, and we know none of it works. At the same time, we must figure out how to live with our vain and meaningless existence. Connor’s death means everything to his immediate family, in this moment. It means something to his friends. It is noteworthy to his acquaintances. It is a statistic to the government. It is a forgotten moment, for a forgotten young man, in two generations. Nobody will remember.
Many claim that life is precious, but we get glimpses of how cheap it is, by senseless killings on the nightly news feed. The Bible even reveals the world’s end. God will incinerate it on the last day (2 Pet 3:10–12). It is with this knowledge and for this reason, we must heed the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “to store up our treasure in heaven (Mt 6:20).”
The truth is that this world is not our home, and the Christian has no business settling in here. We are strangers in a foreign land, pilgrims who keep moving toward heavenly Zion, the New Jerusalem (Heb 11:16; 12:22; Rev 3:12; 21:2). This place is a woeful and cheap imitation. Here, it is all promise and no deliverance. With food and clothing we can be content. The rest is just frivolous.
With the departure of a loved one, through the portal of death, we do gain perspective. First, we need a theology that informs us of the afterlife, our place in eternity (Rev 21–22). Without this, we are without hope in the world (Eph 2:12). Hopelessness speeds our demise here, as meaninglessness ravages our emotions.
Christian, you are not of this world (Jn 18:36). This world is not your home. You are an ambassador for a season (2 Cor 5:20), and then you will be returned to your sovereign Lord. Preparing for the uncertainties of life in this world will have little effect on your suffering in this world. Your better option is to prepare for eternity, by setting your mind and your heart on the things of heaven above (Mk 8:33; Rom 8:5–6; Col 3:2). It is Christ who is certain (Heb 13:8). It is Christ who does not change.
There is no life apart from Jesus Christ (Jn 15:5), only vanity and coping (Eccl 1:9). On the day of your death, there is zero return on your investment in this world. What little you possessed will be distributed to others, to be frittered away or reinvested in the world, as the root of all kinds of evil for the next person (1 Tim 6:10).
Friend, there is little time left for you to get your house in order, to ready yourself for departure. You must do this with diligence. As you do, give thanks for the hope that is within you (Col 1:27), if you belong to Christ (1 Cor 3:23). He has assured your safe passage home (Jn 14:2–3). It is also appropriate to thank God this world is not your home. It is a place of disappointment, death, and despair. It is meaningless to prop it up or decorate it, as a place of hope. It is not. We must devalue it, in favor of the world to come, where righteousness dwells (2 Pet 3:13).
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
December 2, 2022
