By Randy Yerby
I wrote the following article almost 8 years ago, I hope you find something useful in it.
Hebrews 11:24-26; “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
In reading and preparing to write this article I came across a new word I’d never seen before, “momentarian”. According to the author, “A momentarian is a person that lives in the present at the expense of the future. He or she is consumed with the here and now and has little or no regard for their future or their children’s futures.” I would suggest that many folks are “momentarian’s” in their spiritual lives as well. Living in the moment happens when we make no provision for the future resting place of our eternal souls. We live each day with no responsibility for tomorrow.
Living in the moment may even seem very reasonable to us as we wrestle with the issues of life. Burdens that are brought on by tragedy, health issues, family matters, job stresses, and “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22) choke out the heavenly vision. How do I not allow myself to become a “momentarian”? How do I keep and maintain the heavenly vision?
First, I must never forget that this world is temporary and my soul is eternal. John says, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). Every circumstance of this world will end one day; whether it ends with our passing, or by the Lord’s returning, this life will end. Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come…the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). As a result, the view of my circumstances needs to be seen in a much bigger view. No one is denying the pain that anyone may be experiencing; however, we need to remember that the pain is temporary!
Second, our faith in an eternal resting place for our soul must prevail over every circumstance of this world. Heaven and Hell are real places. So often we think they are nothing more than figments of our imaginations. Our heavenly vision has to be so powerful that we literally see ourselves serving God for eternity. Solomon wrote that God has put “eternity” in our hearts. Eternity is there for us, as a wonderful blessing to help us persevere through the darkest of moments in our lives.
How do I continue to see this vision? As eyeglasses correct our earthly vision, so prayer and God’s revelation correct our heavenly vision. We must continue to talk to God and allow Him to talk to us. We must never become so self-absorbed that the world keeps us from the necessity of this continuing communication.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).