Our Ultimate Goal!!

 

             2 Corinthians 4:15-18 

15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed  Day by day.
 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

 This is one of my go-to verses when I am feeling low and exhausted or anxious or stressful or worthless or hopeless because it instantly makes me feel just the opposite of all those words. Though The Bible as a whole, has the ability to change you, your feelings, your emotions and give you peace because it is filled with hope and promises for future. After all : ALL  scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and it is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12)!

         But here, we see, Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth and reminding them of the ultimate goal! So then, these verses are telling me and you that whatever is happening in our life right now; right this moment or whatever has happened to us is all for our benefit(v15). We may not agree or beg to differ from that thought or fail to understand the “how is it beneficial to me?” part but nonetheless IT IS for OUR BENEFIT!!  These words remind us to not lose heart because outwardly, our life might seem worthless and wasteful but inwardly we are being renewed, pruned, polished and being prepared to be eligible citizens of heaven and this is taking place on a daily basis(v16)! We are in the process of acquiring permanent residency.  

         (v17) And then in the next verse Paul compares our giant, never-ending ,only-targeted towards me, more-than-i-can-bear troubles to just light and momentary troubles. Easier said then done but Paul knew what afflictions and sufferings meant! He, himself, had been through prisons, had been beaten with rods, pelted with stones, was flogged severely, shipwrecked, was in danger from his own fellow Jews, from gentiles, from robbers, he was in danger in the city, in the country, sea, had experienced hunger ,thirst, sleeplessness, have been cold and naked. These were just some of the outward, physical sufferings he had mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. He had been through death-like sufferings(v23) along with his mental ,emotional ,spiritual sufferings causing him immense pain to the point of inward burns(v29)! So Paul is well aware of afflictions and sufferings!

  But when Paul is mentioning about the light and momentary troubles(NIV), he is also giving us a solution, i.e., Shifting Our Focus! From us to God, from the seen to the unseen , from our present circumstances to the future eternal glory it will bring!! He is asking us to fix our eyes on eternity(v18), OUR ULTIMATE GOAL! He is encouraging us to see our present sufferings as achievements (v17) that will sum up to nothing as compared to the weight of the eternal glory in store for us. And all this sufferings and troubles are beneficial for us; for our ministry on earth because it will cause thanksgiving to overflow and bring God glory, again our goal on earth!

     He is encouraging you and me to shift our focus from this temporary, earthly, bodily abode to our permanent eternal abode!

 

If God's love for His children is to be measured by our health, wealth and comfort in this life, then God hated The Apostle Paul  - John Piper