The World Is Passing Away

Hello all! Happy spring!

No, I am not done writing about misconceptions, but I want to interject other stuff every couple weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, I loaded my Google Mail inbox and saw a strange email. It was an email notification saying that a Youtube channel I had subscribed to (Haven Avenue) had uploaded a video. The channel was owned by two Christian teenaged girls, named Genevieve and Corinn, with beautiful voices, who uploaded covers of Christian songs. I quickly opened the email, surprised because these young ladies had not uploaded any covers for over a year. But it was not a cover. It was a different type of video, with a strange title: Corinn’s Honor Walk - Gift of Life.

I was surprised, almost shocked, as I began to realize that Corinn had died.

Corinn Linkowski of Waterford, Michigan suffered fatal brain injuries on February 13, 2019, when on her way to work in the morning, she lost control of her vehicle due to ice and snow on an undivided highway and was hit by an oncoming car. A few days later she was declared brain-dead, and her family made the decision to turn her over to Gift of Life so that her organs could be donated to those who need them. Although I did not know Corinn personally, even through watching the covers she and Genevieve made I could sense an eternally-minded young lady. The stories her family told confirmed that she was truly a young woman of God who lived out a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She was only eighteen years old.

It was a strong reminder for me that none of us hold our lives in our hands. They are not in our control. We can’t determine whether we live or die. We never know what will happen next. As James wrote, what are our lives but vapors which appear for a little time and then vanish away?

But that's not all. It’s not only our own lives we can’t hold onto. It’s the lives of our friends and family. We can’t control what happens to them. Only God does. And we can’t keep any of our belongings. They are so fleeting.

For a long time, I didn’t understand these verses:

1 Corinthians 7:29-31:

But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.

Why would a married guy act like he wasn't married? Wouldn't he get in big trouble with his wife if he did that? I thought. But it all makes sense to me now. We are supposed to make good use of what God has given us now - to be good stewards. BUT - we must be willing to let go of anything and everything, if God decides to take away from us.

We must love our spouses, siblings, parents and friends, but not hold on to them with a deathgrip. We are to make good use of resources that we have, like phones, computers, apps, books, and such, but we are to use them as if we are only borrowing them from someone - because we are. They all are God's. And the time is short!

Somehow, I feel that our brothers and sisters in places like China and North Korea have this lesson down pat, but it's something very difficult for us to conceive in North America. Most North Americans can't imagine a day going by without having their trusty cellphone always within an arm's reach. As for me, I do not have a phone, but as I recall, some of the strangest and most depriving days I can recall (at least I thought they were strange and depriving at the time) are the three days in February last year when our router was broken and we didn't have any internet.😂

The important thing for us to remember is that our Father holds the world in His hands, so if we have Him, we have everything, even if He isn't giving us everything we want or think we need. I remember one day when I walked into school, and the principal walked by, and suddenly a weighty thought hit me - she is a beggar! As far as I know, she does not have Jesus - and if that is the case, she really has nothing! Another time I was in art class and one guy sitting at my table said to another guy "My dad is a millionaire." (I think he was exaggerating.) And I thought to myself, My Dad owns the cattle on a thousand hills!

One more thing. Does this include the Bible? After all, why would God ever allow us to be deprived of the Bible? It's a tough question. But many of our brothers and sisters right now are following Christ - without Bibles. How can that be?

Well, when the Bible says "The Word of our God will stand forever," I don't think it meant that it is impossible to destroy a physical Bible. Yes, I believe that there have been times where God preserved particular Bibles by making them fireproof, but that doesn't mean that happened with every Bible in history. I believe that verse is talking about the Word Himself - and also saying that God's Word applies for all time. Also, although many men have destroyed copies of the Bible, no one has ever destroyed every single copy.

There may be times when we will be deprived of the Bible. But the important thing to remember is that if we are Christians, we will always have the Living Word. And we while we have Bibles, let us use them to the fullest so that if we are ever deprived of one, we will have His Word in our heads and hearts.

1 John 2:17:

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

I was at the MACHS Conference for the graduation recognition last week and got to witness my dear friend Tareah's graduation recognized. Congratulations to her and all the others who were in the recognition. (Congratulations to the parents too!!)