标杆人生 第06天 人生是一项暂时性的任务
Life Is a Temporary
Assignment
LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.
I am here on earth for just a little while.
Psalm 119:19 (TEV)
Life on earth is a temporary assignment.
The Bible is full of metaphors 2 that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. Life is described as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, and a wisp of smoke. The Bible says, "For we were born but yesterday.... Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow."'
To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity 3, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more."
Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You're just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe
our brief stay on earth. David said, "I am but a foreigner here on earth," and Peter explained, "If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth."
In California, where I live, many people have moved from other parts of the world to work here, but they keep their citizenship 4 with their home country. They are required to carry a visitor registration 5 card (called a "green card"), which allows them to work here even though they aren't citizens. Christians 6 should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven. God says his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do. "All they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet.
Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt 7 with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery. The Bible says, "you're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting 8 with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.'
Imagine if you were asked by your country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You would probably have to learn a new language and adapt to some customs and cultural differences in order to be polite and to accomplish your mission. As an ambassador you would not be able to isolate 9 yourself from the enemy. To fulfill 10 your mission, you would have to have contact and relate to them.
But suppose you became so comfortable with this foreign country that you fell in love with it, preferring it to your homeland. Your loyalty 11 and commitment would change. Your role as an ambassador would be compromised. Instead of representing your home country, you would start acting 12 like the enemy. You'd be a traitor 13.
The Bible says, "We are Christ's ambassadors."
Sadly, many Christians have betrayed their King and his kingdom. They have foolishly concluded that because they live on earth, it's their home. It is not. The Bible is clear: "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy 14 in it. Don't indulge your ego 15 at the expense of your soul."8 God warns us to not get too attached to what's around us because it is temporary. We're told, "Those infrequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.”
Compared with other centuries, life has never been easier for much of the Western world. We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered 16 to. With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing 17 media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. We are preparing for something even better. "The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever"
The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers 18 of Jesus, we experience
difficulty, sorrow, and rejection 19 in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.
Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven.
In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth- is not our final home; we were created for something much better.
A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you.
Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically 20 alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions. As C. S. Lewis observed, "All that is not eternal is eternally useless." The Bible says, "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal.”
It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry 21. Never focus on temporary crowns.
Paul was faithful, yet he ended up in prison. John the Baptist was faithful, but he was beheaded. Millions of faithful people have been martyred, have lost everything, or have come to the end of life with nothing to show for it. But the end of life is not the end!
In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. The Bible says this about God's Hall of Fame: "All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth.... they were waiting for a better country-a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them. "14 Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner.
An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary 22 coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment 23, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, "But my child, you're not home yet."
You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much
importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last?"
When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home-you'll go home.
Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.
DAY SIX THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE
Point to Ponder: This world is not my home.
Verse to Remember: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
Question to Consider: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?
- The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
- The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。
- I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
- Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。
- The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
- Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。
- He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
- Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。
- Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
- What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？
- Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
- His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
- He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。
- He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情，他都要抓狂了。
- Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分
- Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
- We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。
- If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
- This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。
- She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
- His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
- Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
- During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
- The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
- He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。
- I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
- We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
- He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
- She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。
- We catered for forty but only twenty came. 我们准备了40客饭菜，但只来了20个人。
- They catered for everyone regardless of social rank. 他们为所有人服务而不计较其社会地位。
- I think you must be mesmerizing me, Charles. 查尔斯，我想你一定在对我施催眠术啦。 来自辞典例句
- The attendant one-dimensional wave equation has mesmerizing harmonic properties. 伴生的一元波平衡具有迷人的和谐特性。 来自电影对白
- the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
- The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
- He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
- The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。
- I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
- The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
- She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
- I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。
- All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
- She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。