November 21, 2015

Temporary and Eternal

We had an opportunity to chat with one of our neighbours.
He lives up the road and around the corner.
We'd never met before.  So, we introduced ourselves.

The house right next to us was in the process of being destroyed.
At that moment, he came riding up the street on his bike.
He was angry that he had not been allowed to salvage
parts of the house.  And, he wasn't shy about saying so.

We watched the demolition.  Together.
Within an hour, the house was a pile of rubble.
It was shocking how quickly what seemed solid and stable wasn't.


A visual illustration of redemption was unfolding right before us.
This whole thing has played in our minds and hearts ever since.
Two extremes.  Two outcomes.  This analogy can be applied to any of us.
Into which camp do we fall?  Whose side are we on?

None of us deserves to be saved.  We are corrupt.
We cannot do anything to save ourselves.  We need rescuing.

The hedge tree on the far right
in the photo above was dying.


With no effort at all, that tree was removed.
Subsequently, two trees from the neighbour's yard were dug up
and laid on the grass in front of our home.
All it took was an effortless few seconds.

For Howie and the boys, it would have meant hard work.
But, it was done quickly and easily as we stood by and watched.
Those trees were saved and ready for transplanting.
The dead tree would be replaced with the living one.

What a picture of mercy!

 

The house was destroyed from the top down and the outside in.
That powerful machine collapsed it all in a matter of minutes.
While we watched, our neighbour expressed his anger over
the destruction of the things that could have been sold or salvaged.

He was outraged.

Within my mind an eternal picture was forming.
What was happening right before our eyes
was a natural spring board into talking about the real things.
The eternal things.  The things that matter most.

It was such a vivid picture of this verse:

 "While we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen are eternal."
I Corinthians 4:18


 
 This is the lot of this world.  This universe.
Certain destruction.  We are not told when.
But, we are told that it is coming.
 However, there is hope.  Certain Hope.

The Lord Jesus Christ said this:
"...I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh to the Father, but by me."  John 14:6



The time to consider these things is now.
The time to set our house in order is today.
We are not guaranteed tomorrow.
We depend on Another for our very next breath.

And, it is to Him that we owe everything.
It is to Him that we must run for everything.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
 and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.  For the Scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved."  Romans 10:9-13


The Lord promises that if we will come to Him, 
He will not turn us away.  We cannot come in our own merit.  
We only bring our brokenness.  The Lord Jesus Christ
is our only Hope.  The only Way.
 
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."  John 6:37 

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son and believeth on him,
may have everlasting life: and I will raise him
up at the last day."  John 6:40





The living tree was placed in the dead tree's spot.
What a beautiful picture of redemption.



So, in the tearing down of a house, and the replanting of trees,
there is an analogy of something much greater.
Something much more permanent.

We are living souls.  Though this world will perish,
our souls will live on forever.
Where will we stand on that final day?
Whose are we and where will we find ourselves?

These are questions that must be answered.
We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  It is not ours to hold.
We can, however, trust in the One Who holds the future.
There is no better place to rest our hearts.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls.
 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  Matt. 11:28-30

Run to the Lord Jesus Christ.
True and lasting peace is found in Him.
He is the Answer we need.  The Answer we seek.

With Love,
Camille

8 comments:

Sandi said...

Why was the house torn down?

Nikki said...

So well written and something we need to think about often.

Kelly-Anne said...

Dear Camille...what a beautiful illustration of how important it is to build our lives on the One True Rock...He is Eternal, and oh! We need to daily come to Him and surrender to His calling!
Thank you for writing something so beautifully true...
Blessings to you and may your Sunday be lovely!
Love,
Kelly-Anne

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

Interesting post and thanks for sharing analogies and scripture. Niether do I condemn you...go and sin no more..another scripture that Jesus said to someone... Thanks Camille!

Katy said...

A beautiful, beautiful picture you have shown in this post Camille! Such truth!

I am saddened for your neighbor though that his house had to be demolished. That would be hard to watch (and I am stumped as to why he couldn't retrieve anything from inside the house?).

Heather said...

Very interesting analogy, Camille. I like the parallel you drew. Isn't it hard to watch something demolished though? Oliver would disagree, but your photos captured it all! Time to cling to a different kind of hope!

Maryann said...

How kind of the Lord to give you this visual illustration of redemption and mercy. I love it when the Lord gives us something in our everyday that demonstrates biblical truth. This was a great analogy. Thankful that we can cling to a hope that will not perish!

Camille said...

Sandi ~ The house recently changed hands and the new owners didn't want to do all that needed doing. They opted to start from scratch. The house was from the same era as ours...built in the early 1970's. :)

Nikki ~ It's so easy to think all this is permanent, isn't it? What a wonderful thing to know the One Who holds the future!! :)

Kelly-Anne ~ You are so right...the only foundation that is solid is our precious Saviour! What a blessing to know Him! :)

Becky ~ Yes, indeed. How wonderful God's Word is! Hugs. :)

Katy ~ I am sorry for the lack of clarity in my post. After you left your comment I changed it to make it less confusing. The neighbour who was chatting with me was not the owner of the house. In fact, the owner had told us to salvage anything we wanted from the house as well as the yard. :)

Heather ~ I was surprised to find that I was moved to tears as it all began. We had lived beside that house for nearly 21 years....it seemed to be part of our children's growing up years. :)

Maryann ~ We are just so blessed to know the One Who is in control of it all! How precious it is to belong to Him. Hugs. :)

With love,
Camille