The Word
And the world is passing away along with its inordinate desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17).*
Voice from the Church
Standing in front of a crematorium, knowing that any day could be your day, gives one a different perspective on life. The words of an old German motto kept flashing in my mind: “What I spent, I had; what I saved, I lost; what I gave, I have.” How well I understood the feeling of the artist who painted the picture of the corpse of a once wealthy man and titled it Sic transit gloria mundi—“So passes the glory of this world.” The material things of this world no longer excited me, nor would they ever again. (Corrie ten Boom, 1892-1983)**
Reflection
Are we living day by day consciously—or at least subconsciously—aware that our world system, with all its inordinate desires and passions, will one day pass away?
New Year’s Day is an excellent time to reevaluate how we spend our time, energy, and resources. Are we ordering our lives to bring glory to God? Are we people of the Word, walking in the Spirit and not surrendering to the lusts of the flesh? God has given gifts to each of his people. Are we using our gifts to serve the body of Christ and lost humanity? Or are we living for ourselves and this life alone? Consecrated followers of Christ look to live to God’s glory and his alone; these are the ones who will live forever.
Jesus and the apostles were otherworldly people. They loved people but rejected the anti-God world system. As Christians, we are to see ourselves as sojourners as we pass through this world, keeping ourselves by the blood of Christ from becoming contaminated by the world’s philosophies, celebrities, lack of biblical values, and its gods. Interceding for his disciples, Jesus prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from evil” (John 17:15). Are you a sojourner?
VERSE
The glory of this world is soon passing;
Let us live for Christ and what is lasting,
Lest we lose our reward on that Great Day
And be ashamed to stand before the “Way.”
*Author’s translation.
**Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (Forth Washington, PA: CLC, 1974), 29.
From Walking with God: 365 Daily Readings by Ralph I. Tilley (to be published in the fall of 2025)