There is a
charming story concerning the noble statesman, William Ewart Gladstone.
Crossing the frontier between France and Belgium, he was interrogated by an officious
customs officer: “Have you anything to declare?” “Only a bunch of grapes,” replied
the Englishman. The officer countered, “You cannot pass with those grapes, sir.
They are dutiable.” “I will pay no duty!” retorted Gladstone. “Then you must
leave the grapes behind,” said the customs examiner. “No, I shall pass, grapes
and all,” insisted Gladstone. Whereupon, to the astonishment of the officer, he
started slowly eating the grapes, until they disappeared. “Now,” he said with a
smile, “I shall pass, grapes and all."
If one were to
ask a three-year-old if he would rather have a piece of candy now or a new car
when he is sixteen, what do you suppose the response would be? We would not be surprised
if the child wanted the candy, especially if we had it in hand tantalizing him
with the very sight of it. The candy is something the child can see that can
give him immediate satisfaction.
However, the
car is a distant intangible prospect. Since the car will be “new” when the
child turns sixteen, it has not yet been made, and it’s hard for him to imagine
exactly what will be available to him in the realm of automotive transportation
in thirteen years. From our experience
as adults the decision is a “no-brainer”. We recognize the vast difference in
the value of each option. We recognize that in a matter of seconds the candy
will be gone, and it’s delight dissipating. Our perspective is different than a
child’s.
[Revelation
21:4; 22:2] Our heavenly Father offers the rewards of heaven with no pain nor
sorrow, but unending healing and prosperity in the presence of God and the
saved.
[Hebrews 11:25]
By way of contrast, the pleasures of sin are for a season. The problem for us
is that the devil dangles the pleasures of sin before our eyes and invites us
to experience the delight right here and now. Though sin is delightful for a
season, it soon ends, and the bitter realization of its consequences remain. The
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are all of this
world which is passing away (1 John 2:16). Heaven, however, is described as a
city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). Heaven
will never pass away; its delights will never languish. It is eternal life (1
Timothy 6:12), eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10). We cannot see heaven at this
moment, neither can we experience being in the very presence of God Almighty,
but we can choose to patiently wait for it. Through the Bible we can see God’s
perspective of the matter and make the wise choice of heaven.
[2 Corinthians 4:18]
“…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which
are not seen are eternal.” Do we make our decisions based on the here and now?
Let us be reminded that the visible things are temporal – they have an expiration
date. The eternal things ought to be the basis of our decisions, though they
are unseen. The apostle Paul goes on to describe in 2 Corinthians 5, how though
we are now in this earthly tabernacle, that is our physical body, we earnestly await
the time when we will inhabit our spiritual house that is eternal in the
heavens (5:1) and be present with the Lord (5:8). 2 Corinthians 5:7 explains, “For
we walk by faith, not by sight.” Let us walk by faith, by God’s word, “So then
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), which
opens up the unseen world of superior blessings, rather than by sight in a temporal
world. If we do so, we will patiently wait for the great reward, rather than
the devils sugar stick.
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