The Grass Withers
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1 Peter 1:24
For "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls: but the word of the Lord abides for ever." That word is the good news which was preached to you.
If you’re hanging your hat on being happy when you finally win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse contest, or pick the winning numbers for the weekly Lotto drawing; if you believe you’ll be happier when you lose that 10 extra pounds, find the perfect mate, buy an expensive car, move to a particular neighborhood; well . . . I think I’ve made my point. . . We’re wasting our time seeking after earthly satisfaction, treasures, accomplishments, prizes.
You can’t take it with you! Whatever is of this world only lasts so long. Satisfactions lose their luster, money is lost, spent. Everything is fleeting – Hurricane Katrina woke many of us up to that truth in a dramatic, frightening way. In one instant hundreds lost their homes, churches, jobs, and everything that represented who and what they were in this world, to this world. Witnessing it all on television left many of us speechless and awestruck at the devastation to property and in the lives of those in Katrina’s path.
That disaster, the Tsunami and many others demonstrate how quickly everything that defines us on this earth can be obliterated. So why do we put so much importance on things so fleeting and powerless and meaningless? Why do we look at others to compare ourselves? Why do we listen to the lies the advertisements scream at us: buy this and you’ll look like a million dollars – no exercise or dieting required. Take a pill for that heartburn, constipation, pain in the back. Use the latest combination of natural ingredients formulated in a brand new way to make you look young and eliminate your wrinkles. It goes on and on. And we spend millions of dollars a year because we think that all we need to do is take something, buy something and we will be perfect. Our lives will be perfect, if only . . .
OK. Off the soap box. Think about it though. In the beginning, God made us from dust. In the end, to dust we return. We had better start depending upon those things that cannot be destroyed, deteriorated, damaged or decimated by the world. We had better turn to the God who created the world and who sent His son to earth to prove to us how very much He loves us. He became one of us, born of woman and died on a cross. His message was for us, his beloved.
God has given us a way to Him in heaven and it doesn’t require us to buy or acquire anything the human race has to sell. It only requires that we recognize Him as the source of all good things, and accept His son as our Lord and Savior. I image that’s hard for some to believe, because it’s just too easy. Well . . . not really! It’s very challenging because it requires us to accept the gift anew every single day. Every morning when we wake up, we must recommit to living in Christ. The fact that we get a new opportunity every day is a gift in and of itself.
Let’s ignore the world for a while. Put on the mute button when the commercials come on. Don’t read the magazines that tell you how you can look like at 25 year old, anorexic movie star in 30 days. Open the Bible. Seek God and His kingdom.
My prayer today is that you shut out the world, which withers like grass. And seek God and His kingdom which lasts forever.
Mary
