Nothing Lasts Forever

I absolutely HATE the first 2-3 weeks of January at the gym. Parking spots are hard to find—even for a guy with a handicap placard. The locker room is so full that it’s difficult to get to my locker. And swimming lanes? Well, unless someone is willing to share, you might be waiting a while.

As I was entering the gym yesterday evening, I sent my momma a text bemoaning the crowded gym. Her response? “It won’t last long.” Nope, it never does. In a couple of weeks, resolutions will be shattered and the gym will go back to normal.

So many things in life are treated as temporary as gym memberships in January. When an appliance quits, we run and buy a new one. When marriage gets hard, so many throw away vows made before God and seek a new spouse. After a few years of one’s baptism, he no longer wishes to follow the Lord but he seeks an easier path. When one congregation no longer tickles one’s ears, she is more than happy to find another.

While many things in life just don’t last forever, we can find much that is permanent:

• God himself “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev 4:8).
• The love of God “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3).
• The kingdom of God “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15).
• Our heavenly home We have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” (1 Pet 1:4).
• Life in that heavenly home “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 21).
• “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt 24:35).

No, most things will not last forever. But, we have an eternal God whose love will never grow cold, an eternal God with an eternal kingdom where we shall live forever, and an eternal God who can comfort us in moments of crisis with his eternal Word. Even if your gym membership doesn’t last long, you can know with full assurance far more important things will stand the test of time.

God bless!