Living with Purpose
The things of this world and our physical bodies are temporary and uncertain. Most of us are already taking medicine to patch up the holes in the temporary house in which we live. Despite all the patching we can do, our house (our body) will steadily grow old and become more and more uncomfortable. The troublesome things about our physical life is that peace often forsakes us before we die. Clearly, based on God’s Word, we can have peace in our heart and mind until the day we die. Jesus’s own words announce this revelation: “I am leaving you a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So, don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). The physical peace is what often disappears as we age; headaches, backaches, arthritis, failing eye sight and for many their hearing starts to wane. It’s a wise person who will take care of themselves when they’re young; for surely there will be payback one day on how well they have invested in healthy living. God intends for us to live a long good life. This is the ideal. Deuteronomy 30:20 says, “This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long.” And again, in Ephesians 6:1-3, “Do the right things, you will be well, and you will have a long life on the earth.” We all have a long race to run toward eternity. But here’s the fatal mistake so many make. We want to place all our attention on the outward, physical life. We plan our financial future by working both day and night to lay up treasures to coddle ourselves into thinking that the physical life is the high life and nothing else deserves our attention or care.
A rich man was once showing a visiting preacher his grand house and vast outlay of land. He pointed in a northerly direction and said, “As far as the eye can see, that’s all mine.”
“Indeed!” said the minister.
Looking south and then west, he said, “That’s all mine too. I have land at all four points of the compass.”
“Yes, I see you have land on all four quarters, but,” pointing his finger upward, “what have you in that direction?”
The man who was rich in possessions and the so-called good things of this physical life, realized that he was spiritually bankrupt. He blushed and stammered and had no answer.
The best thing about the imperishable inward person is that their beauty and all the needed strength may be renewed day by day. Spiritually we can be renewed as if it’s the first day of our walk with God. God is faithful, and His mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:23). Love, hope, and faith, the great abiding factors in this world, are capable of constant renewal. All three have their great source in God; Who is love, and Who keeps faith forever, and Who can inspire hope in us under all circumstances.
If we hungered for inward renewal as much as the physical, we would experience a glorious radiance that cannot be found in a cosmetic bottle or created through some vain surgical procedure. God sent an angel to feed Elijah under the juniper tree in the desert when he was discouraged, worn-out, and in need of comfort (1 Kings 19). He will also provide strength to come back to us again when we need it. To keep the inward spirit of a person strong, they must have daily feeding. They must partake of regular meals and be renewed day by day. Some people go on religious sprees. They go to church regularly, hear sermons, but then drop away for long seasons of indifference. You can’t be a healthy Christian living this way. We need not live such lives as this. We can renew our spiritual life day by day, so that our spiritual graces will be beautiful and helped inwardly seeing that we have spent time with God.
Just because the years pass and rob us of our youthful vigor, the spirit can be made new every day. An 80-year-old man once said, “My body and mind are weaker than they used to be, but my life grows richer everyday as I get into the higher altitudes of life.”
If you are young in years, the wisest thing to do for your life is to pray to God each day in some private place. Then, having been inspired and comforted by your visit with the Holy Spirit, inhale the freshness of each new day and feel the exhilaration that comes as you start the race of life. But I can assure you, the sweetest hours of your days are when you near the sunset of your time on earth. As good as your physical life may be and as much as you may love life, there’s nothing quite equal to the holy calm of a tired Christian pilgrim when at last they can see the hills and flowers of heaven. What a glorious thing to be able to grow old like that. To be happy, strong, and aspiring in old age we must begin in our youth to refresh and renew the inward spirit that is set apart for glory in the later years of life.
