Everything and everyone on this planet is a passing thing, as is the planet and solar system and universe. All things must pass.
Only God, your soul, and His eternal Kingdom last forever.
When will we ever realize this? When will our society stop living as if this life is it? How many worries of yours are relevant as far as your eternal state?
What passes passes. Does it affect the earth's rotation, when the famous are gone? Fame is fleeting. All worldliness is. (Who won the Super Bowl two years ago? Who was MVP? Who spoke at the last convention?) Look around at how many "famous" people die each year, and also, once they're gone, how they are gone.
Today's "superstar" is tomorrow's fading nebula. We all fade (as far as the earth, while we radiate like never in Heaven!).
As a former Omaha cop, who came close to death during a heart attack, once said (referring to people and things of this earth), "In Heaven, there are no 'big deals.'"
It's good to remember this every day and every time we are impressed or distressed or obsessed with or by the worldly.
Strive only for closeness to God; strive only to serve others; strive only for direct entry into Heaven.
When you do, you're relieved of the burden of ego, pride, and ambition. Peace will come.
How much time we waste on earth! How many minutes could have been spent praying and purging instead of fretting over things like status! How many countless hours do we worry or fall into anger or jealousy or let ourselves be needled instead of using that time for eternally constructive purposes?
When old friends fall away, fret not; this is often because there is no more harmony in spirit; not to worry; we receive new friends.
Do you have a "vibrant' relationship with Jesus? Or do you only know Him only from afar -- indirectly? Do you speak with Him person to Person or only in the third person?
As the Lord spoke to one woman, "Seek to please Me above all else. Let that goal be your focal point as you go through this day. Such a mindset will protect you from scattering your energy to the winds. You inhabit a fallen, disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant relationship with Me can keep you from coming unraveled too."
"Be prepared to suffer for Me," He said, in this word of knowledge, which we'll take as that; call it an infusion or "inspiration."
"All suffering has meaning in My Kingdom. Pain and problems are opportunities to demonstrate your trust in Me. Bearing your circumstances bravely -- even thanking Me for them -- is one of the highest forms of praise."
This sacrifice of thanksgiving, said the word, "rings golden-toned bells of joy throughout heavenly realms. On earth also, your patient suffering sends out ripples of good tidings in ever-widening circles."
It is just like a stone cast into a pond.
What we do here, what we say here, what we feel here, what we think here, has universal repercussions -- no matter how "small" a pebble it seems.
[resources: A Life of Blessings]
