Temporary vs. Permanent

Am I living for the temporary things or the permanent things?

This is a question that I need to ask myself every single day…..if I’m honest…..probably multiple times a day! What is truly important in this life? In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, the Holy Spirit speaks through the apostle Paul with these timeless, inspiring, ever-relevant words……

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 

First of all, let’s establish the context of these verses. Paul is writing to Christians in these verses, “the church of God which is at Corinth”. (2 Corinthians 1:1) 2 Corinthians is a letter of encouragement and instruction to this church, however it is just as relevant and important to us today as it was to them so many years ago…..as is the entire Bible of course. The majority of the letter is meant to encourage and edify us, with some instruction on giving of our means included in chapters 8 and 9. We have been studying this book in our Sunday morning Bible class, and it has been such an encouraging book to study. Paul shares his personal life with us in this book, even sharing about his “thorn in the flesh” in chapter 12. I honestly feel like I know Paul through his writing. That is part of the reason I love 2 Corinthians so much. I love it when preachers/teachers/writers share who they are with me. And this is what I like to do when I write. I want you to know me through my writing…..the imperfect, flawed Greta Hoover……even if you haven’t met me in person. I mean…..don’t these words describe all of us who have ever lived or will ever live…..imperfect and flawed? Well….all of us except for one that is…..our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So let’s dive into 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and see where it takes us. 

Everything that we can lay eyes on and see in this life is going to wear out or pass away. Nothing about this life is permanent. Our time here is short compared to eternity. James 4:14 asks us the question, “For what is your life?” How would we answer James if he asked us that question today? What is my life? How do I view my existence here on earth? Is enjoying life my sole purpose? Is traveling my main focus? Is it building up a savings account? Is it being successful in my career? Is it my physical appearance? Now, I’m not saying that any of these things are inherently wrong. Should we enjoy life? Of course we should! We should enjoy life, but we should be enjoying life within the confines of living the Christian life. Enjoying life does not have to mean participating in sinful activities, or leaving God out of our plans for recreation. The world needs to see us enjoying our lives while putting God first and living for Christ. What about traveling the world and seeing new places? That’s awesome, as long as we take Christ with us when we go to these new places. What about saving money? Saving money for the future is a good thing. It is not wrong to save money, but if it causes us to be stingy about giving back to the Lord and helping others, then that money that we are saving becomes an idol. Money is temporary, and we can’t take it with us. We will have no need for it when we step into eternity. What about success in our careers/jobs? Being successful in how we make a living is perfectly fine. In fact, it’s great! We are expected to work to make our way in this life. And as Christians, we should be able to be relied upon to do our jobs to the best of our ability. Our employees should be able to count on us to be honest, hard-working individuals. But…..our job/career should never become our sole focus in life. Moving up the corporate ladder should not take precedence over God’s purpose for our lives. Success is fine, as long as it is in its proper place on our ladder of priorities. We will not be defined by our occupation in heaven. I am a teacher here on earth, but that is not how I will be identified in eternity. What about our physical appearance? It is perfectly fine to look nice, dress nicely and appropriately, and take care of one’s physical health. God expects us to have self-respect, and take care of the temple that He has given us. But this physical body is wearing out. Like the verse above says, “our outward man is perishing”. I can attest to that fact as I grow older. However, the verse also says that “our inward man is being renewed day by day”. That inward man that Paul is speaking of is our soul. God’s Word says we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye on the day that Jesus returns. (1 Corinthians 15:52) We will not take this physical body with us into eternity. 1 Corinthians 15:48 says that the spiritual body does not come first, “but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.” So……the world and the things of it are all temporary. Heaven is permanent or “eternal”. Our bodies are temporary houses for our souls. Our souls are permanent or “eternal”. If we truly believe these statements about heaven and our souls being eternal, and earth and our physical bodies being temporary, doesn’t it make sense to put more effort into preserving our souls while we are here on earth? Our soul is the only thing about us that is going to last forever, so let’s pay attention to it first. Let’s make sure we are feeding it properly with God’s Word daily. Believe me…..I am talking to myself here as much as I am anyone else reading this. I am smacking my own hands, and stepping on my own toes. I have been letting life get in the way entirely too much lately. Let’s make sure that we are being faithful to His kingdom here on earth, the Lord’s church. Let’s make sure that we are focusing the bulk of our attention on the permanent things……the eternal things. I can guarantee that we will be happier and healthier in every way if we do. We will be filled up with Christ instead of the world. It is great to enjoy life, and have things that we hold as our favorites in our short life here on earth, but let’s never forget that none of it will matter in eternity. All the things of this world that we hold dear and enjoy…..our pets, our material things of value, our sentimental heirlooms that have been passed down from generation to generation, our sports trophies, our academic accolades, our favorite vacation spots……everything……all of it……will be left behind when we step into eternity. However…..we can spend our life with the purpose of taking all of our loved ones, and as many others as possible into eternity with us. How do we accomplish that? Well, first of all, we have to make sure we are faithful Christians ourselves. I have learned from past experience that I must get my life and priorities right before I can encourage others to get theirs right. Then I need to strive to be the best example that I can be in my daily walk. But most importantly…..I have to show kindness and speak the truth in love to my family and friends, but not only them, but to anyone else that I come in contact with as I go through my life, including those who read my blog. I believe that kindness is the beginning of sharing the truth. Kindness speaks volumes to people of all walks of life.

I also want to remind you all that there is one more thing that is temporary in this life. If we are Christians and remain faithful until death, then all of our suffering here on earth is temporary as well. The pain, loss, heartache, sadness, confusion, frustration, uncertainty and anxiety of this world is not permanent. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory….” God compares our life here on earth to “a moment”!  I might live 90 years….maybe less or maybe more, but God says that my years here are only “a moment”! The “light affliction” or suffering that we endure here is nothing compared to the joy that we will have in eternity if we choose to obey and follow Jesus for the rest of our life. It will be so worth it, my sisters and friends! The very worst thing that could happen to us here on earth can never outweigh the glory of an eternity with God. We will go through some temporary suffering. Some people may seem to go through more than others, but…..think clearly about Revelation 21:4 for a moment. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” The “former things” or…..the temporary things are gone. Please keep this verse in mind as you go through the hardest of times. And remember that God is suffering with us. He knows when we hurt in any way, and He feels it. Look at all the times God showed compassion on His people in the old testament after they turned away from Him to worship idols. He heard their suffering. He felt it! Compassion can only be shown when there is empathy. God had empathy for His people when they were suffering. He has not changed. He has the same empathy and compassion for us. Remember how His people were suffering in Egypt as slaves. God told Moses this in Exodus 3:7,  “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. God knew what they were going through, and He was sorrowful about it, or else why would He help them? You know…..the deliverance of His people out of Egyptian slavery is a major part of the big picture of our salvation through Jesus Christ today. God. Has. Not. Changed. 

God sent Jesus to earth so that He could feel the suffering that we feel. God knew we needed a Savior who could physically and mentally endure what we endure as humans. Let’s never forget when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest. He told Peter, James and John these words, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death.” Then he went and fell on His face and prayed to His Father to “let this cup pass from me” if it was at all possible. (Matthew 26:38-39) Let’s not forget the sweat that was falling from Jesus’ forehead like drops of blood! (Luke 22:44) And all this suffering happened before He was even arrested! Just imagine the suffering of the mind that Jesus endured just knowing what was going to happen to Him! The mental anguish itself had to be unimaginable! What if we knew what was going to happen to us in the future? Would that not be stressful? However, Jesus’ suffering did not last. He was resurrected, and went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father. That horrible suffering was only temporary….as will ours be if we are faithful until death. (Revelation 2:10)

Listen to the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

In the verse right before this, 2 Corinthians 4:14-15, Paul says that “He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.” He also says that all things are for our benefit. Everything God has done is for our benefit in order for us to have eternal life and for His name to be glorified. This is why we never lose heart or give up. This is why we focus more closely and intentionally on the permanent, NOT the temporary.

I would like to end with the answer to James’ question in James 4:14….”For what is your life? The answer to James’ question is this, “It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Our life is fleeting. I blinked and my children went from babies to grown adults. I blinked on December 8, 2023, and my grandson, Brandon turned a year old just three weeks ago. Our time here passes so quickly. Let’s make the most of our temporary life here by working toward gaining our permanent home with Jesus. As we enter into the year 2025 in a few days, will we try to focus more on the permanent/eternal things in the coming year? For ourselves? For our spouses? For our children? For all our loved ones and friends? But most of all….will we change our focus for our Creator and our Savior? I know I badly need to make some changes this year. I’m not talking about  huge resolutions that are easily broken. It can be baby steps that can lead to big changes in the future. Can we make these changes together? Temporary or permanent…..where will your focus be? Love you all.

Everything that I write begins within me…..convicting myself. It is always something that I am struggling with internally or externally. Writing is my way of working through my struggles. I figure if I put it out there, then maybe someone else is having the same struggles. Maybe through our struggles, we can work through them together. If anyone reading this would like a bible study, please reach out, and I can help you or put in contact with someone who can. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)