2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Our latest Christmas vacation made the verse above more real to my heart. Both my parents are diagnosed to have Alzheimer's, although my Dad’s condition seems to have plateaued. We would have the same conversation though every 2 or 3 minutes, asking me the same questions over and over again. I squeeze in a little spiritual insights now and then, but most of his questions are about me, my wife and the kids.
My Mom’s condition is different. Her vocabulary is depleting, and she cannot finish a sentence because she cannot remember the words she wants to use. All throughout my stay she seemed to know who I was, but on the day we left she turned to me and asked “are you my son, or my brother?”. Most of the time she would call me “Toto”, which is both the name of her brother, and a common name in the Ilonggo dialect. She passed around a notebook to my kids, asking them to write down their names so that she would not forget who they were.
It was hard to see them this way. It was equally hard for my two older kids who grew up with good memories of their grandparents. It was sad to know that we would not be seeing them as they used to be.
Life changes. Our bodies change. In fact, they’re deteriorating. And no matter how many herbal or natural vitamins we may drink, or place in our skin, the inevitable is happening – we are wasting away.
Of course I didn’t have to visit my parents to realize this truth. Every new ache and pain that I feel in my body moves me to pray that it is just something minor. Of course every time I get a good blood pressure reading, or a positive blood test result, it moves me to thank the Lord for His faithfulness. But I know that I’m not as strong, or as healthy, as I used to be. And they remind me of the truth of 2 Corinthians 4:16 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
It was a chance for me to have a family talk with my wife and kids about what is happening with my parents. What we are seeing is what happens to each one of us. Even though I pray that I may not go the same way they are experiencing now, or have a grave disease or attack in the future, yet one thing is for sure – our bodies are wasting away. And so, what should we be concerned about, more than our bodies? Our inner lives.
We do not live forever. Our bodies wasting away remind us that we are not going to be keeping our bodies, or living in this earth, forever. So what gives us hope? Our inward lives. “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
How is our eternity set? Through our believing in what Christ Jesus did on the cross for us. Many Christians look at Jesus on the cross and wonder what He was doing there Why did He have to suffer? He did it for us...in our stead. The pain, and punishment, He bore on the cross was payment for something that we sinners owed Him. To believe in Christ as our Savior, as the One who paid for our sins, sets our eternity with Him.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
What about our “new year’s resolution”? What did we pray to the Lord for this new year? Was it about something external, something we want to “see” or gain materially, physically or externally? All of us, including myself, have that tendency to fix our eyes on what is seen, on what is temporary, for it gives us some sense of joy, fulfillment and happiness…temporarily. What our minds and bodies do not tell us is that we are wasting away, and we need to focus on things that are unseen, what we will enjoy eternally – our hearts.
Should we not be praying for a stronger faith, a deeper relationship and walk with our God? Should we not be “wishing” that we live a life of trust, dependence on the Lord, and see Him in every blessing and trial that we face? Should we not be praying that we be more Christ-like, more like our Lord, in all our dealings with man? Should we not be making this our priority, what we fix our eyes on?
Not just for the new year, but for every day of our life! What is seen is temporary…what is unseen is eternal.
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
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