The Things that Remain

Over the past weeks people have been sending me texts and video clips of many different kinds. Some of them are jokes or amusing stories - which are always welcome as they add a bit of light relief in these troubled times. Others are serious comments or quotes which can bring comfort and strength. But there have been some others - video clips, often with beautiful background music - which have brought stunning pictures of creation which are majestic and beautiful and so varied that they remind you of the glorious power and beauty that is in God and can only be created by Him. A world that has been in existence for thousands of years and yet there is freshness and beauty, variety and growth every year .

I began to compare this with the things created by man. There have been many fine pieces of architecture, for example, that have lasted for many a long day - but so often there is need for thousands if not millions of pounds to be spent on them to keep them standing. And in other cases, they crumble and disappear after a length of time - the seven wonders of the ancient world are no more.

It reminds us that God is the God of the infinite and the eternal - and man is the creator of the finite and the temporary things in life. And yet we read in the Bible that 'God has set eternity in the hearts of men'. In other words , we were created to know God and there is a part of us that will never be satisfied the things that are simply part of this passing world.

​In these days we are living in, many of the things which have been so important in our lives have been stripped away, suddenly and dramatically, and we have been reminded that they can be here today and gone tomorrow . And if our security is in these things, how fragile that security is. But for the children of God, our security is in Christ Jesus and is rooted in that eternal world. We read these words in the book of Hebrews,

...the removing of those things that are shaken... that 
the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
(Hebrews 12:26-27)