Betwixt Two Worlds
II Corinthians 4
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are TEMPORAL; but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL.
Phiippians 1
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait BETWIXT TWO having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
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Webster Dictionary
Temporal —
a : of or relating to time as opposed to eternity
b : of or relating to earthly life
Eternal —
a : having infinite duration : EVERLASTING — eternal damnation
b : of or relating to eternity
c : characterized by abiding fellowship with God
Mark 10:17 — Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
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Since my salvation in 1973, I’ve clung to the expectant reality of an afterlife that will be the exact opposite of this physical, transitory, temporal life. I’m still clinging to that reality with wonder and expectation, especially with each passing year.
A few years before I got saved, somewhere around age 14, I was overwhelmed with the idea that this life cannot be all that there is. I could not accept the concept of dying to be no more, forever. That bothered me. Somehow, somewhere inside of me, I just couldn’t accept that. There HAD to be more. And indeed I did come to find out that there is much more through a personal salvation experience in Christ.
And now 50 years later, I find my gaze is becoming more-and-more upward in focus and desire. The lure of this world and what it offers is increasingly becoming less-and-less appealing. The feeling of the Apostle Paul’s being caught “betwixt two” desires is overtaking my perspective as well — in a positive way.
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Personally, I find it extremely encouraging to know that once we’re absent from this body through death we will immediately be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. A hope such as this can help to make each day a meaningful experience full of purpose.
II Corinthians 5
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
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For some reason when I think about departing from this life, I picture the beauty of a hot air balloon lifting off the ground as it heads toward the sky above. Having seen hot air balloons getting filled and then lifting off with people in the basket, I’m filled with a wonderful, hopeful picture of what it might be like the moment our life passes from this temporal to the eternal.
One day all of us will depart from this life. Some will depart to be forever with their Lord in Heaven. But some will depart to be forever separated from the Lord in Hell. Death for the believer is to be forever together with Lord. Death for the unbeliever is to be forever separated from the Lord.
I wonder if we, after awhile, take it for granted that the end of our life means the beginning of a new life. I wonder if the awe of knowing that becomes just another bit of common information, another factoid, that we process without much impact upon our daily lives until … the end starts to stare us in the face.
As I see it, the constant awareness of our severance from this life, our “betwixtness” between two worlds, is a good thing. It keeps us from getting too settled into, too at home with, this life. It is all transitory. It’s all passing away. It’s all a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
And though …
While we’re living this life it might seem like it’a a long time, it’s really nothing compared to eternity with our Saviour. Our “betwixtness” is, in fact, a relatively small amount of time in the scope and lens of being forever with the Lord.
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As I approach the 70 year marker of my life, I assure you I’m not taking the hope of eternal life for granted like I did when I was much younger. I’m actually finding myself having to face head on whether or not I actually do believe what the Bible says. Reality tends to focus the lens of perspective in a very unique way.
When I “had all the time in the world” to live I didn’t think about it like I do now. Now as my allotted 70 years is almost here, I’m faced with the reality, or not, of what the Scripture says. It’s all becoming very “in time” real.
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As I think back over my 50 years of salvation experience, I am grateful that I was afforded in Christ the blessing of living between two worlds. I can’t imagine what life would have been for me if I hadn’t come to know Christ and had only lived my unsaved life. So from that vantage point, being a “two-world” person has been a blessing and … a struggle. To know this struggle has been one of my greatest assurances of salvation. Before salvation I had no such struggle within.
And so …
At times, living between the pull of two worlds can be oppressive. If, and when, that pull happens I’ve learned to rejoice because it’s like a small inner voice of assurance telling me I’m secure in Christ for all eternity. What can be better than that?
Every now-and-then it might be a good thing to remind ourselves that this world is not our home. We’re just passing through. We have a joy unspeakable and full of glory awaiting us after this “betwixt” existence comes to its end.
One day our “betwixt” will be no longer. Praise the Lord.