Well, the infamous “They” say that: “All good things must come to an end.” It is comforting that it’s not just the good things that come to an end, but also all things (with some exceptions, of course). Now, I have no idea who exactly “they” are, but I think I’ve met them once. They were shorter than I had imagined.
Regardless, the series on perseverance must conclude so that I can think deep thoughts about something else.
I think an important thing in perseverance is having a goal. When enduring the hurricanes of life I think that it’s hope (as I wrote in Part 3) that keeps me going. Without the horizon I don’t believe I’d sail. What would be my motivation? So I wade through the brambles and shrubs to get to the end, often times not exactly sure where the end is, but pressing on none-the-less because it’s my faith in knowing it is there that keeps me going.
In the United States of America our Declaration of Independance includes the ambition of the right to: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I feel that as a whole, “happiness” is exactly what is pursued. People flood their lives with careers, to give them money, to give them the car, house, and living situation that they want. Their horizon is what the infamous “They” has told them is the “American Dream.” But as things are achieved they find that there’s something more…so they look for it in relationships (often broken), fame (often fleeting), and momentary thrills (often leaving a painful mark).
I want more. I don’t want to be a “They” or a “Them.”
Jesus Christ said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
School, career, and family are things that reside in my mind, but somehow they are not my horizon. If those things are not a reflection of my destination I hesitate to let them become part of the journey. Life is a journey, not the destination. For the Christian, Heaven is home. This place is merely a shadow. So I trek on as a journeyman, hopefully leaving a piece of Heaven behind.
It may happen in a moment. Like the sun catching a piece of glass and blinding your eyes. All of the sudden your breath is taken from you, but you are not suffocated, rather, you are realizing that your lungs are being filled with something more viberant and real than air. As the harsh light dims, you are able to make out the ground below your feet, and as C.S. Lewis once wrote, “you will be able to see the grass through your feet. Not because you are any less substantial but because that place is so much more real than you are.” You know somehow that you are home, but in a home that you could never have conjured up in your own imagination. Someone calls your name. You know the voice…it’s your best friend, your savior, your Lord. You look up as best you can. You can barely lift your head, you cannot (with all of your strength) lift your head in the least, not because of shame but more out of the power of the Person’s being. Like trying to charge a large waterfall, you get pushed back from the powerful glory of His character. You reach towards the figure not being able to push any further, and you feel a strong, gentle hand take hold of you and draw you into the brilliance of Himself. Like a father or a best friend He embraces you, as you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are at your destination. In that moment you know that this is where you’ve put your heart. In that moment you know that nothing else in all exsistence matters. In that moment “They” are proven critically wrong: “All good things” do not “come to an end.”