Living in and among the people of this world with their influences and pressures (Rom. 12:2) it is so ‘natural’ to allow our hearts and thoughts to turn to things of this world (Col. 3:1-3). We are in a perpetual struggle—a fight to wrest our own souls from the world (Luke 21:19). Our struggle is not to allow ourselves to be deterred from our eternal purposes concerning those things that are unseen (2 Cor. 4:16-18). As our hearts reach out to others, we need to keep this focus clearly in mind—what is unseen is eternal!
The apostle John’s heart reached out to Gaius, an older saint whose faithfulness was a great mountain of strength—so much so that the Holy Spirit inspired John to write: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2). What a grand testimony for any child of God! Good physical health with poor spiritual health is only a temporary benefit, but when a soul prospers, it is a great profit in this world as well as the world to come (1 Tim. 4:8-9). Our hearts should reach out to our sisters, to hunger and thirst after righteousness and to diligently exercise ourselves in godliness! We can be a great comfort to our sisters in temporary things, but our work will stand the test of time if we build in their hearts with those spiritual building materials (1 Cor. 3:12-15).
We ourselves will be richly rewarded if we are wise masterbuilders (1 Cor. 3:10). Guaranteed, our efforts will not be in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). When we fit our lips with the eternal knowledge of God’s word (Prov. 22:20-21), we can lay up treasure in the hearts of our sisters that will never fade away (Matt. 13:31), eternal in the heavens, which will redound to glory and honor and praise from the Almighty God on that Great Day (1 Pet. 1:7). As we seek to build with that eternal knowledge we must plead with the Lord for their and our understanding (Prov. 2:1-5), for without understanding, the knowledge we build in their hearts will be removed by Satan. His intent is to remove every spiritual brick we lay (Matt. 13:19). The Lord can give understanding to all things (2 Tim. 2:7). The Lord promises that the knowledge we instill in those hearts will bear fruit (Matt. 13:23), if they understand. We can thus bear much fruit through the hearts of our sisters that will continue to grow richly throughout their entire lives (Titus 3:8, 14).
The Holy Spirit glorified Christ by taking the words he heard from Christ (John 16:14) and giving them to the apostles (John 16:13). Can we also glorify Christ by taking His words and building with them in the hearts of others? Will Christ’s words not stand the test of the fire and result in pure spiritual gold in the hearts of our sisters (1 Cor. 3:12-15)? We will do far more lasting good in sharing the eternal words of God rather than bending to the pressure of the world to speak of the things of this world (1 John 4:5-6). Let us all truly lay up eternal treasures in the heavens where they will never fade away (Matt. 6:19-20). Jesus did exactly this in not speaking his own words, but the eternal words he heard from his Father (John 12:49-50). We would be wise to walk in the steps of the Master (1 Pet. 2:21).
Beth Johnson