Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Reminder: We Are On Transit

I was with mum at the hospital this morning for her second radiotherapy session. While waiting for her to finish the treatment, I decided to take a walk around the Accident and Emergency department. As I was walking towards one of the treatment rooms, a body was wheeled out and it kind of gave me a shock. I shan't go into details what I saw but it has now etched in my mind that I cannot stop thinking about it.

Well, it was good for me to have experienced the above-mentioned. This death I saw serves as a good reminder for me about life here on earth.

I do not know how many of us have forgotten that this life we live on earth is just temporary - a transit. I must confess I tend to forget about this in many occasions.

It is important that we, as Christians, remember so that we do not let this life here take away what is eternal. Some examples:-

1) Do not let the pursuits of ambition and money (by toiling our lives at work) take away precious time we could have spent to know God better and to use His blessings upon us to minister to the lives of others (like our families, friends and those in need). Remember that the possessions we have on earth will remain here when we die.

2) Do not give up something eternal (like our relationship with God) for something temporary (like the pleasures of this world). Remember that when we die, these pleasures will not leave with us but one thing is for sure, we will still have to meet God in judgement.

3) Do not let the worries and pains of this fallen world affect us to the point where we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember when we die, these worries and pains remain here on earth and we will be freed from all of life's struggles.

4) Do not get too comfortable settling here on earth, it will be a lot harder when we know we have to leave soon.

These were some thoughts I had. It is my prayer that we know our flight status here on earth - the ticket of life you are holding in your hand is marked as "Transit" - be always ready to catch the flight when called upon. If not, it may just be a little too late.

We can still enjoy life here but do not let that enjoyment lure us away from God.

It is amazing how I got the verse below - after sharing the above thoughts, I was asking the Lord what verse or passage touches on this topic. When I went on the BibleGateway website, this verse was the site's Verse of the Day. Thanks be to God!

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 1 Corinthians 4:16-18

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