Title:- Of Giants & Pillars of Salt
Phillipians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
A World War II correspondent once described the atmosphere of a room containing thirty-five men who had been assigned to a bombing mission from which, on average, 75% would not return. The correspondent noted that what he felt in those men, was not so much fear, but 'A profound reluctance to give up the future.'
Maybe, apart from the most ardent Hindu’s of the East, we in the West especially are very much creatures of the now and the near to now. Despite our weekly sermons, our daily quiet times, our Scripture memorization, our spiritual reading, our spiritual watching, we have still failed to become creatures possessed by an eternal vista. We do not set our hearts on things which are above, we do not invest in the unfading, neither do we only seek a heavenly city, who’s builder and maker is God. A brief examination of our physical and psychological portfolios will give testimony to this, and in agreement to this statement of mine, all our psychosomatic illnesses shout a very large “AMEN!”
I am at a loss to know what will change our vista up towards heaven, which is our eternal home? Maybe only the onset of a terminal illness will do it. It is a frightening thought is not it. However, the joke is on us, for we all, this side of the renewal, already have a terminal illness! Yes, we are all passing through, we are all going to die, yet we continue to look down and not look up. This world is nothing but a giant cemetery so why are we building in it. The more I think about this, the more it just seems to be plain craziness!
The prospect of leaving your earthly lover, your dearly loved ones and committing them to an unknown future, maybe involving the care and happiness of another earthly lover, another stand-in father or mother, does indeed wrench any human heart. Add to this the inability that such a departure brings in being unable to achieve your own heart’s desires for the coming years; robbing you of your dreams, career and the opportunity to taste the fruit of the work of your own hands, yes, when you add all these things together, they do indeed make death a very bitter pill to swallow. Therefore I believe the war correspondent was correct in that the seeming senseless waste, the robbery of life and future that death brings with it, is a fiercer giant than the fear of death itself.’
These two giants, 'Suffering Death’ and ‘Fearful Loss' will not go away. They are still heavily armed bludgeon practiced fiends that stand each side of the gates to any temporal happiness. However, it seems to me that their power is only felt, is only effective in destruction, when we simply stand there and stare into their all-consuming eyes.
This morning, today and tomorrow then, commit not to look into the eyes of these giants friends, for the fact is, they are defeated foes and have no power over the Christian, that is, unless we insist in meeting their terrible gaze and then just stand in front of them to be bludgeoned, beaten into a pillar of salt. A million statuesque pillars of Christian salt all give testimony to this. Too many of our tribe have longed after a happier Egypt and gazed back through the temporal gates of Sodom, only to meet the dreadful eyes of these two giants and then be left bludgeoned and lifeless in the desert!
We have some major adjustments to make dear friends and mostly they are in our neck. Look up! Wherever you are today, look up! Igrnore those giant twins, for they have no power over you.
Listen:- Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt . Genesis 19:24-26 NKJV
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8-9
..and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:9-10
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 20-21
Pray:- Help me O Lord, to set my eyes on things above and help me not to allow myself to gaze into the eyes of these defeated, but most terrible of giants. Amen.
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