Paul once beseeched the brethren to permit him a little "foolishness," so that he might reflect upon his labors with those to whom he was writing (2 Cor 11:1). His great concern was that the Corinthians might not be drawn away by false teachers claiming to be apostles of the Lord. Paul's great love for the church is most evident in his writings. One of his most tender epistles is that written to the Thessalonians. Therein he wrote, "But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children: even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us" (1 Thess 2:7). Among Paul's tribulations was his "anxiety for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). Oh yes, Paul loved the brethren individually and the brotherhood collectively. Such love drove him to run the race with dedication and determination, and to preach the truth, only the truth, and all of the truth, without fear or favor of men. I can almost imagine the great satisfaction that must have been his as his earthly ministry drew to a close, and he peered through jail bars at the henchman's block upon which he was soon to be offered. With great confidence he wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). Tradition says that he was beheaded shortly after he penned those words. Were we permitted to visit with Paul, do you suppose he would have any regrets for having spent his life in service to his Master? I think not! Those immortal words penned to the Corinthians express his sentiments perhaps even more since his departure from his earthly tabernacle: "Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens" (2 Cor 4:16-5:1). I ask you, dear brother and sister, are you looking at the things which are seen, or unseen? Are your eyes fixed on the earthly or the heavenly? the temporal or the eternal? And if on the seen, the temporal, and the earthly, then when it comes time for you depart to realms unknown, will you be able to truly look back on your life with genuine satisfaction?
In connection with the above thoughts, permit me to share with you a quote from Henry Van Dyke. Here is his most notable tribute to the Book of books, the Bible: "Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked and proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that love, sympathy, devotion, memory, and hope put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens, and the trembling pilgrim comes to the valley of the shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Goodbye; we shall meet again;' and, confronted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness to light."
by Tom Wacaster
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