Temporary or Not

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

Rev. Eddie Smart

March 4, 2007

II Corinthians 4:16-18

          So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, ¹⁸ because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

      This Saturday will be the seventh anniversary of Barbara Johnson Arther’s leaving this earthly existence for heavenly glory. Barbara was my pastor, mentor, and friend. She was a part of my struggle with a call to ordained ministry. Barbara was only the second woman in our conference to be appointed as a District Superintendent.

      It was while serving as the D.S. of the Waxahachie District that Barbara learned that she had cancer. It was the most aggressive sort. She went through chemo, then surgery, and then a bone marrow transplant. It appeared that she had beaten the cancer, only for it to return explosively.

      Barbara was 41 years old. She left behind a husband and 10 year old daughter. We were there to help celebrate the birth of Lauren.

      Her last months you would see her tethered to her oxygen bottle and a smile on her face. Barbara’s spiritual journey had been a rich one. She was able to face death with a courage that was a witness to those of us who knew her. While Barbara’s physical being decayed quickly & pre-maturely, her spiritual being was prepared to spend eternity with her Lord. While her outer nature rapidly crumbled away, her inner nature remained strong, continuing to flourish.

      Paul writes to the church in Corinth about this inner nature and outer nature. The “Today’s English Version” puts it this way: “Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.” We are born with physical bodies that continue to grow and mature. Our bodies peak at some point & then go into decline.

      It seems like it was no time that I moved from bi-focals to tri-focals. The ophthalmologist can do laser corrective surgery, BUT they cannot “fix” the effects of older age on the eyes. That once perfect blood pressure now is regulated with medication. Our joints wear out and get stiff. Our hearts wear out. Our hearing worsens. As time passes our physical being gradually decays.

      Our bodies are fragile! Bones break. Disease invades. Accidents maim. War kills. Organs fail. Flesh burns. Minds betray. Muscles wither. Arteries clog. Lungs collapse.

      Paul says at the same time our spiritual beings are renewed day after day. While that is the possibility, it does not happen automatically. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” “If you cannot become like one of these children, you can’t enter the kingdom.” We are born as spiritual beings – as children we have spiritual lives suited for the kingdom, but then our spiritual lives decline. We then work on our spiritual lives, and they renew daily.

      Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline offers 12 disciplines which help us grow spiritually. No matter how hard we work we cannot stop physical decay, BUT we can discipline ourselves so that we continue to renew our spiritual being. The twelve disciplines are: Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, & Celebration.

      So while we cannot reverse the physical decay of our bodies, we can insure the renewing of our spiritual beings. We can grow closer in our relationship with our Creator. We can grow closer in our relationship with our Savior. It is in the continuing renewal of our spiritual being, that we can find hope in an eternal existence with our Lord. It is in the continuing renewal of our spiritual being, that we can live this earthly existence with joy.

      One of my favorite Wayne Watson songs has a chorus that goes like this:

One day Jesus will call my name.

As days go by, I hope I don't stay the same.

I want to get so close to him that its no big change

On that day that Jesus calls my name.

      Paul is talking about living a life of feeding our spirit. Paul is talking about as days go by not staying the same, about the daily renewing of our spiritual lives so that we grow so close to Jesus that we don’t see any difference when we are beside him for eternity.

      Lent is a time to stop and examine our Spiritual journey. Is your spiritual being experiencing daily renewal? What are you doing each day for your spiritual being?

      Today we can renew our spiritual beings by feasting at our Lord’s table–sharing in the bread and the wine, celebrating Jesus’ sacrificial love for us.