Immortality.
To exist beyond the end of our days. To remain alive in some form or fashion. To have made a difference beyond just our 70, 80, or 90 years.
We all want it. Even nonbelievers, people who are convinced the end of their life is the end of their existence. We want to live on.
Some of us trust in our legacy to provide immortality. Our children, a charity we support, or a business empire carrying our name. We choose carefully, making sure the paperwork is in place, certain our efforts will bridge the years and we’ll be remembered for all time.
The city of Damascus in modern Syria was established in the 3rd millennium B.C., over 4,000 years ago. Its location is strategic, sheltered by the mountains and at a crossroads between major trade routes. With a cool desert climate, and at one time surrounded by an oasis, Damascus was designed for immortality. This city was to be the prize of the ancient world, one that would rule forever.
Isaiah 17:1 gives us a different forecast for the great city:
“An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.”
Isaiah wrote these words in 741 B.C. He said, in essence, that the greatest city of the age would crumble. The jewel of Syria, designed to bridge the years and be remembered for all time, would fall before her enemies and be crushed beneath their feet. In 727 B.C., Damascus was decimated by the Assyrians. In 572 B.C., the Babylonians held sway in the city. In 323 B.C., the location was the site of a struggle between competing empires, and has been conquered, traded, redistricted, and redesigned many times since.
Where can we find our immortality today? In our financial organizations? Our families? The bricks and mortar we leave behind?
Matthew 3:8 gives us a simpler way:
“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
How easy is that? The greatest men of history aren’t those who build the biggest empires, but those who live well and reach out to their fellow travelers along life’s road. When we live to the standards of Christ, we become immortal in word, deed, and fact. We will live forever because of our God and King.
We want to be remembered for all the right reasons, and that includes revealing the spirit of Christ in all that we do.
Copyright © 2017 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.J.25.16a.vp.esv