Living Among the Immortals



There are no ordinary people.



You have never talked to a mere mortal.



Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.



This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.



And our love must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. (quote from The Weight of Glory, by C.S. Lewis)



Do you ever think about that?



That the person alongside you at the ballgame, or in front of you in the checkout line - is immortal - will live forever?



"God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart..." Eccl. 3:11 NLT



So can we afford to ignore that fact? That person who you cannot stand to be around, and take great pains to avoid, either will be with you in heaven forever or apart from everything good, away from God's presence, and forever paying for their sins?



No wonder Lewis wrote that our love must be "real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners."



Real and costly...



That's exactly the kind of love Jesus showed us.



Some people are trapped in their sins. It's up to us to rescue them before this life is over. Take a risk. Make a difference for eternity.



Grace!





David Wilson



This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.