BONUS BLOG: Grace-Forged Friendships Will Last Forever
Scotty Smith is real life friend. We met when he was teaching a course I was in at Covenant in St. Louis, the flagship seminary of his denomination (Presbyterian Church in America). You’d love this pastor; I’d love to have him join us for coffee! Meanwhile, there is this by him —
| “We don’t lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Cor. 4:16-17 Dear Jesus, I have loved this passage for decades. It’s an honest and hopeful perspective about life between your resurrection and return. To acknowledge we’re “outwardly wasting away” isn’t pessimistic but realistic. It’s to live with humility and joy in view of the Day when these aging bodies of ours will be raised in perfection, never to wear out again. We cannot wait (but will). Hallelujah! There’s never been a “fountain of youth” in Florida, or anywhere else. But in the Gospel we have a “fountain of grace”—one that runs deep, sweet, and all the way into the new heaven and new earth. Awesome! Getting older isn’t fun or for the weak of heart, but knowing the Spirit is constantly at work to make us like you changes everything—including how we “weigh” stuff. On the only scale that really matters, the blessings of eternal glory far outweigh the “light and momentary troubles” we experience in this life. Help us to see, know, and enjoy this good news more than we ever have. Lastly Jesus, thank for the 3 plural pronouns “we” and the one “us” Paul used in this passage. Knowing you isn’t a “solo sport,” it’s a shared reality of your faithfulness and loving kindness. Knowing you gives us the most endearing and enduring friendships we could have ever hoped for. Friendships grace-forged in this life will last throughout eternity… Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus, 1000 times over, for our Gospel-posses and Homeward-bound companions. We who are growing weaker together will be glorified together. Awesome, and So Very Amen. |
— See?
Amen?
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