Earthly Praise vs Eternal Glory

Do you ever get discouraged? I saw a poster, “Don’t give up. Often it’s the last key on the ring that opens the door.” Good advice. But, be honest, sometimes we’ve tried all the keys and we still face locked doors, brick walls, dead ends.

A missionary couple was returning from Africa to New York City where they were retiring with little pension and broken health. Discouraged and afraid, they boarded a ship to find that U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt was also aboard. Passengers strained their necks hoping to catch a glimpse of the great man, and lined up to congratulate him.

One day on the six-week voyage, the missionary said to his wife, “Something is wrong. Why should we, who have given our lives in service to the Lord all these years in Africa, not receive any fanfare or attention? And this man, who has done nothing more than go on a hunting trip, is the center of attention. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Sure enough, when the ship arrived in New York, a brass band played and the mayor welcomed the president. The missionary shook his head. “It isn’t fair,” he told his wife. “There’s no one to greet us. Doesn’t God care?”

The papers sold fast with news of the President’s arrival, but the couple slipped off the ship, unnoticed, found a cheap flat on the East side, and talked of what they could do to make a living. But that night the man’s spirit broke. He said to his wife, “If God is a faithful God, why doesn’t he meet our need and send someone along?”

His wife said, “Honey, why don’t you tell God the whole thing?” So, he disappeared into the bedroom to pray (sometimes we men do listen!). Half an hour later he came out and his face had changed. His wife asked, “What happened? I can see that everything is different.”

“Yes,” he said, “the Lord settled it with me.”

“What did He say?”

He smiled. “I poured out the whole thing to him,” he said. “How we’ve given our lives—our blood and sweat and tears in Africa. How our health is broken and we have no place to go. I told him how bitter I was about the President and his welcome. How no one met us when we returned home. When I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘Son, you’re not home yet!’”

It is a life-transforming truth, isn’t it? Listen to these words: “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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” That’s from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

Be assured, the God who sees it all will reward your faithfulness. Maybe here. But without a doubt, later. We dare not settle for temporary applause when the applause of heaven is waiting. The God who spoke the universe into existence will not stay silent. One day you’ll hear His words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”

A little girl lived close to a graveyard. A friend said good night, then added, “Aren’t you afraid to go through the cemetery?” She laughed and replied, “No. My home is on the other side.”

Whatever you do, ask God for strength to be faithful. And don’t lose sight of what we cannot see, that which is eternal. Remember, my friend, we are not home yet.