2 Corinthians 4:18b – For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (NLT)

Every afternoon when I walked into the house, things had disappeared. Our possessions shrank by the day.

Well … not really. We were moving, and my wife was doing most of the packing while I taught school during the day. Since I didn't see all that she packed, it appeared as if the things in our small patio townhouse — and the home itself — diminished daily.

But in the process, I discovered something else. Although I had enjoyed all the things that she packed away, I could live without them. They were not items that I must have to survive: food, shelter, clothing. In fact, I didn't miss some of the things at all and probably didn't until my wife unpacked them at our new home.

Over the years, through all our moves, we've left some things packed up. At a later move, we unboxed them to discover that we had forgotten that we even had those items. The old saying, "Out of sight, out of mind", holds.

When I was young, I held things closely and relationships a little more loosely. But as I've aged, I realize that I have put too much stock in things. I've now learned to hold people closely and things loosely. People may sometimes disappoint us, but things will always let us down in the end because of their temporary nature. Items may have aesthetic, financial, or sentimental value but are never worth more than people. Even when they possess family value, the thing is never more important than the person. If the person has died, the things left behind merely remind us of the person and give us sweet memories.

I now want to open my hand and pass things along instead of clinging to them. Every Christmas — and sometimes in between — I pass a family heirloom to my children and grandchildren. I also tell them the story of the person from whom it came and anything else that I know about it.

Even the finest things deteriorate. They can also be lost or stolen. People are of eternal worth because God made them in His image. Jesus said to love Him above all else and then our neighbours as ourselves. Relationships: that's what life is about. They are a part of the treasure that we store in heaven.

The most important thing that we cannot see is the relationship that we build with God through our faith journey. We can enjoy the things that God allows us to have, but we must remember that we won't take them into eternity. One by one, like the belongings that my wife packed, they will vanish. Only what we have built with God and others will follow us into our eternal abode.

How can you remember the temporary nature of things so that you can put your focus in the right place?

Prayer: Father, help us to hold things loosely and You and people tightly. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share on Facebook

About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
Send your feedback to the author