Things of Earth — Things of Heaven
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"O what folly, O what madness!
That my thoughts should go astray,
After toys and empty pleasures —
Pleasures only of a day!
This vain world, with all its trifles,
Soon, alas! will be no more;
There's no object worth admiring,
But the God whom I adore!"
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things!" Colossians 3:1-2.
"Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who mind earthly things." Philippians 3:19.
The history of six thousand years has given indisputable evidence of the insufficiency of all earthly objects to yield true and satisfying enjoyment. Man has needs — which no earthly riches can supply; he has soul diseases — which no human skill can cure; he has fears — which no mortal courage can quell; he has debts — which no finite resources can discharge; and he has miseries — which no earth-born sagacity can console.
In earthly things, to whatever extent they may be possessed, there is a lack of adaptation to yield real happiness. It is recorded of Caesar, that he exclaimed, when in possession of universal empire, "Is this all?" This clearly showed that his expectations of happiness were not answered by the attainment of worldly things. From a distance, it seemed something great and enviable for mighty nations to acknowledge his sway, and submit to his sceptre; but when it was actually attained, his language was, "Is this all?"
Reader, have you not often felt something similar to this? You may have set your heart upon some distant object; and oh! what were you not ready to give for its attainment! What sacrifices you made! What self-denial did you undergo! At length, perhaps, the desire of your heart was granted you. But was it what you expected? Were you not, on the contrary, led to exclaim, in the language of the disappointed emperor, "Is this all?"
It is an absolute certainty, that the things of earth cannot satisfy the cravings of our immortal nature. Wealth, fame, learning, pleasure, domestic happiness — none of these things can do it. "Whoever drinks of these waters shall thirst again," as the Saviour declared to the Samaritan woman; "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst — but it shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life!"
But the things of earth, besides being unsatisfying in their nature, are, at best, transitory in their duration. What are RICHES? 'Uncertain' is the epithet which the pen of inspiration employs in describing them. "Will you set your eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven!" What is PLEASURE? Something that is only for a season. What is WISDOM? More precious than rubies, if it is the wisdom which comes from above; but if it the wisdom of this world — it also is vanity, and will soon pass away. What is FAME? Often a bubble, no sooner blown — than it bursts! Yes, the earth itself is only temporary!
With the things of heaven, however, it is far otherwise. The true believer is "begotten again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead — to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance, which never fades away." Such was not the inheritance of many of the angels — they kept not their first estate — but left their own habitation. Such was not the inheritance of our first parents in Paradise; from their bowers, and happy walks and shades, they were banished, and that by God Himself, because of their disobedience to His just command. Such was not the inheritance of the Jews in Canaan, for the glory of all lands was made a desolation, and its guilty tribes have had to wander over the wide earth, without a country or a home. Such is not the inheritance of the man of this world; his portion is in the present life; and that, as we have seen, will soon vanish away. But looking upward to yon glorious spheres, we can say,
"O you blessed scenes of permanent delight!
Full above measure! lasting beyond bound!
A perpetuity of bliss, is bliss.
Could you, so rich in rapture, fear an end,
That ghastly thought would drink up all your joy,
And quite unparadise the realms of light."
A Roman general, on one occasion, when elated by the splendours of a triumphal entrance into the imperial city, which had been awarded to him in honour of the victories he had won, exclaimed, "Ah, that it would continue!" But, alas! it did not continue. All the glittering pomp soon vanished. It floated away like a fleeting dream. And so with all earthly bliss — it will not, and cannot, continue. Had earthly things a character of abiding permanence belonging to them, men might with some semblance of reason make them the first and last objects of their desires and pursuits. Such a character, however, they do not possess. "The world with its lust is passing away!"
But, O blessed heavenly world! and O blessed beings! who, through much tribulation have reached it — never will you have mournfully to say, "Ah, that it would continue!" This fullness of joy — this unclouded vision of God and the Lamb — this sweet fellowship with saints and angels — this day without a night — this sky without a cloud — this sea without a ruffle — these ravishing melodies — this seraphic transport and exulting joy — "Ah, that they would continue!" Well, continue they will, you blessed ones! and that forever. Eternal ages as they roll their everlasting rounds, will find you in full, yes, in constantly augmenting possession of all you now inherit. "Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end!"
In a certain town, some few years ago, at a time of great commercial distress, two friends were one day conversing on what kind of property was safest at so critical a period. One of them said that he had not much confidence in the oils, nor did he much like bank-stock, and he expressed his doubts in reference to other investments. Having done so, he asked his friend, what kind he thought best? That friend was a Christian, and his reply showed where his treasure was, and where his heart was also. In the words of the apostle, already quoted, he answered, "I have a priceless inheritance — pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay!" O secure, O eternal treasure! a treasure in the confident expectation of which the early Christians took joyfully the confiscation of their earthly all, knowing that they had this better and enduring substance. Reader, may their portion be yours! And then, whatever disasters may come, you will have nothing to fear.
"Set your affection then on things above — not on things on the earth." The prophet's expostulates, "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth," is the exhortation of Christ, "where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." O make not those things which perish in the using, the objects of your exclusive and supreme attention. Be assured that they build too low — who build below the skies! There are durable riches to be obtained, and that freely. All the blessings of the Gospel are everlasting. The salvation which the Lord Jesus procured shall be forever, and the righteousness which He wrought out, shall not be abolished.
But, alas! how many are there who mind earthly things. With the great majority of our fellow creatures, such things are first and last, they are middle and end. The curse pronounced upon the serpent is fully verified in their case — "Upon their belly they go, and dust they eat all the days of their lives." It was over such characters that the apostle wept. He saw that they were enemies of the cross of Christ, inasmuch as its great object was unaccomplished in them; for they were not crucified to the world, nor the world crucified to them. The Lord Jesus "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." And unless we are thus delivered — His sufferings and death, as far as we are concerned, have been in vain!
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