Everything Is Temporary Except….
The long retired soccer star was pleased when a young fan raced up to him in the shopping mall and eagerly asked for his autograph. Of course the former star player happily signed the youngster’s autograph sheet; it was nice to still be remembered 20 years after he retired from active playing. The young boy thanked him by name for the autograph and wished him well. The former player stared into space in shock as the boy returned to his family in the mall; he had been taken aback when the young boy had called him by the name of another player of his era. The player recalled the times when his image was on posters in all corners of the city and his name was on the lips of every soccer fan; no one would mistake him for another player. Now, twenty years later, few knew his name or remembered his athletic accomplishments. “Fame is indeed fleeting, very temporary,” he thought to himself.
“Earthly life is short and very temporary”, lamented the dying man as he gave some last parting advice to his children. “Nothing last forever so live your lives to the fullest because life is indeed so very brief,” he advised. He noted that even death is not permanent; God has promised to reunite human bodies with their souls at the end of time.
Man must always be conscious of the temporary nature of all things on earth. Athletic fame, business success, personal relationships all tend to be temporary and are often fleeting. For example, it is estimated that less than 20 percent of the major corporations doing business today will be viable businesses in 30 years. One person reflected upon the current status of his former company, “It was a leader in its business field; it actually started the business activity in which it excelled. Yet today it is gone; few even remember it.” Fashions in clothes, hair styles, and even electronics change frequently and are temporary. Everything, including life itself, seems to be temporary.
“Only death is a permanent state,” announced the college professor with authority. Most of the students accepted the professor’s claim that death was permanent. However, upon reflection, several students postulated that death also was a temporary state, since God had promised man, body and soul, an eternal life to be shared with Him in heaven….or isolated in hell for those who ignored His teachings. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered into human form on earth to instruct man about God, man’s need for repentance, and the existence of a permanent, eternal life for those who believe and follow Him.
Considering the importance of the one and only permanent state for man, why do so many humans concentrate all of their energies on the temporary things in life, while ignoring that which is permanent?