Editor’s note: This is a reprinted column from Jack Purcell’s “On the Journey” archives. It originally appeared in The Star in 2013.
I hope you are not one of those Christians who has succumbed to fatalism. You know, the folks whose favorite hymn is “The Sweet By and By.”
Their summary of the Christian life is “I will suffer through this life until I get to heaven where everything will be perfect.”
Another song that reflects this attitude is “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.”
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not diminishing the glories of heaven or the difficulties and tragedies many of us experience in our earthly life. But I encourage you to keep things in perspective.
Who created this world and everything in it? Who planted your feet on this earth with the expectation that you would be an extension of his life in this place? Who left the glories of heaven to come to earth to live as a man?
Where do we find in scripture that God thought his creation was a cosmic mistake?
We know for certain that you and I are not mistakes because of the value he has placed on us in his heart. This raises some very interesting philosophical and spiritual questions, does it not?
Why was God not satisfied with angels and wanted mankind? And if he wanted a perfect world, why not just put man in heaven and skip all this struggle that we experience in an imperfect world?
We may not be able to answer all these questions, but why not assume that a good God had something good in mind? His plan involved a people with a free will, set apart to walk with him and carry on the life and work of Jesus on earth.
If a Christian, on the other hand, has concluded he or she is responsible to do this on their own with help from Jesus, it is no wonder their attitude is “Get me to heaven as quickly as you can, this is not what I bargained for.”
Another issue that comes to play in the fatalistic mindset is how Christians should treat the earth God made for them to inhabit?
“This world is not my home” appears to be a bit naive at best. In fact, as long as we are still living in this created body this world is our home, and I believe God would have us treat it as such.
In my opinion, we have allowed the environmental movement to jade our view of how we are to care for the planet.
Extremists always get the attention they do not deserve, but where is the Christian voice on this issue? I can tell you.
For the most part it is silent. So, regarding the world God placed us in, should we not give it the same value that he does?
Let me recommend that you read the first two chapters of Genesis as a reminder that God was pleased with his creation and called it good.
King David reflects in the Psalms, “And blessed be his glorious name forever; And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.”
Because of man’s free will, life on this earth will not be easy. We will struggle and face difficulties just as Jesus did while on earth. But his coming is what gives us hope for a secure future.
Until that future arrives let us live this life with joy and gratitude that we are here.
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