It's only temporary

 

Everything that’s not of heaven is only temporary (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11).  In the long view of eternity, anything that has no lasting value is meaningless, worthless, and we hold onto it in vain.  When we focus on what is temporal, when we base our values on worldly standards, and when we strive only for a more comfortable, easy life here on earth, we can’t see who Jesus really is, we can’t understand His teachings, and the Cross seems like nothing more than an instrument of torture and destruction.

We’re all creatures of curiosity.  We get excited over miracles, and new discoveries fascinate us, but if they don't enhance our relationship with Christ, they only benefit our lives for a short time.  Spiritual discoveries benefit us forever.  King Herod didn’t want to know Jesus where it mattered, in his spirit (Luke 9:7-9).  He didn’t want God's touch to change him.  When we don't let Jesus change us - when we don't give Him the freedom to affect whatever in our lives is temporal - our accomplishments are ultimately worthless and vain.

We enjoy adventure.  Some of us are lucky enough to go on pilgrimages and tours to places of new discovery.  We all look for those mountaintop experiences, but for many of us, it's all temporary.  While the mountaintop brings us closer to God, the time spent there is wasted unless we're eternally changed by it - a change that is evidenced when we’re in the valleys of our lives.

I daresay that the entire world is experiencing such a valley, as it has been for some time now.  It seems like everything’s a problem, and they just keep piling up; the environment, social discord, the pandemic, the list goes on and on.  But we should remember that in the grand scheme of things our problems are temporary, including those that seem unending.  If in our sufferings there's no change that transfigures our soul and radiates Jesus outward, any relief we get from the resolution of the problem is temporary and vain.

“Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him. (Luke 9:9)

Herod’s question might well be the most important question of our life; to seek Him is the most important action of our life!  “Christ is all and in all.” (Colossians 3:11) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13)   

Not to seek Jesus is to miss the biggest opportunity of our lives.  Not to evangelize the world about Him is the biggest omission of our lives—even, or maybe especially in these trying times.  St. Paul got it right when he wrote,  “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:8).

St Paul’s reflection reminds us of the task before us.  “In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)