Bruce Willis, one of Hollywood's greatest actors, had to end his career due to a condition called frontotemporal dementia, which impairs lucidity and memory.
Phil Collins, one of the greatest names in music history, also had his career cut short by serious back problems that hindered his mobility and prevented him from playing the instrument that made him famous, the drums... even having to perform his final shows sitting down.
While I was writing these lines, it was being reported that Céline Dion, one of the most famous singers and owner of one of the most beautiful voices in the world, has been afflicted by stiff-person syndrome — an incurable autoimmune disease that causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms — and her health is deteriorating: according to sources close to her, she "can barely move," in addition to facing the terrible pain caused by the muscle spasms characteristic of the disease, and no treatment has made her better.
Sources close to Céline have said that all indications suggest she will never be able to return to the stage…
Is there anything wrong with being successful in your career, with being victorious in life?
Certainly not!
However, success cannot change something entirely inevitable: no one stays "on top" forever.
We could even cite several cases of Olympic champions who had to sell their gold medals after ending their careers because, after leaving the spotlight, they simply didn't even have money to eat.
Earthly glory is not necessarily wrong or sinful, but it has one detail that cannot be ignored: it is definitely something fleeting.
It will eventually end with the death of its holder, but, as in the examples cited, it may end even before that: Bruce Willis, Phil Collins, and Céline Dion will no longer be seen live by the general public, only in archive footage.
In other words, they will no longer be able to enjoy the audience's ovation, which they have relied on for decades of their lives.
Thus, the truth is that the attainment of earthly glory, besides not being guaranteed (after all, very few achieve it, even working their entire lives for it), is something that will not be maintained indefinitely.
The apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, who were facing persecution because of their faith, highlights an interesting point:
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
(2ⁿᵈ Corinthians 4:17-18 – KJA)
Therefore, we fix our eyes not on what can be seen, but on the things that are unseen;
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
It may seem strange for Paul to speak of "light and momentary" tribulation to people who were relentlessly persecuted by a tyrannical and hostile Empire, persecution that resulted in imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, and death.
However, all of these things would remain, and still remain, restricted to Earth and to the time of this life: just like glory, earthly tribulation is also something entirely temporal, without any continuity in the World to come, the New Jerusalem.
The same anti-Christian sentiment that is spreading throughout the world today will be unleashed—according to the words of Jesus himself in the Eschatological Sermon (see Matthew 24-25, Mark 13 e Luke 21) — a tribulation that will have no precedent in history: the persecutions that occurred in biblical times, during the Inquisition, and at various points in history were restricted to a specific region where state power prevailed, but the one that precedes the end times — with globalization, the exchange of information, and influence around the entire planet — will be worldwide.
However, this too will be something fleeting, for this world will have an end: whether it be glory or tribulation, all that can be seen in this world is something that is restricted to the present reality of earthly existence and will not continue after this world has passed away.
The greatest evangelist the world has ever known rightly said that "what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal," for he acknowledges that, in earthly terms, he suffered only losses after converting to the Christian faith: he, a Jew of the Pharisaic class (Philippians 3:5), a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29Well-versed in Greek culture, he was a respected figure in all three cultures and moved freely between them.
Upon converting to Christianity, he was persecuted and had to face many difficulties and sufferings (as presented in 2ⁿᵈ Corinthians 11:23-28), however, he began to consider everything he had before as "refuse," or, as the original term says, σκυβαλα (SKÚBALON), "Dung," because it was worthless compared to belonging to Christ.
Sonship with the Father through Jesus may not bring any advantage now, but the advantages of this world are fleeting and even insignificant compared to what awaits us: as Paul himself said in the base text of this reflection, the weight of glory that will be given to the saved is "beyond all comparison," that is, not even the angels will have such great intimacy with God as the saved in eternity.
The saved will reign with Christ in a reality where suffering or any unpleasant sensation will never touch them.Revelation 21:4And best of all, this will be ETERNAL, not something fleeting like the joys and glories of earthly life.
Therefore, let our hearts be set on things above, those things that Christ won for us through his death and resurrection.
Everything we have and will eventually have will be left behind when we depart from this world.
Because we enter this world with absolutely nothing,
(1ˢᵗ Timothy 6:7 – KJA)
And when we leave here, we can take nothing with us.
That which we cannot yet see, however, is not only beyond our comprehension, but is infinite, something to be enjoyed for all eternity.
In the Bonds of Calvary
ORIGINAL TITLEPaying attention to things that cannot be seen.
Everything seems to indicate that the end times are unfolding ever more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.
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