This world is not my home
I’m just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.

This beautiful old song comes to my mind whenever things get difficult.  It reminds me that the experience of life is a blink of an eye compared with eternity.  It is comforting to remember that there is so much held in store for me when the few short years here are finished.  I can count on the home in heaven that Jesus is already working on for me.  What a great hope to hold on to!

But, what about the times when things are going pretty well, when I feel good, I’m having fun, and trouble seems far away?  I don’t usually sing this song as I drive down the road during times of plenty.  But I should…  I think times of plenty are the most perilous for our souls for this very reason.  I can get comfortable in the world, confident in my success of navigating the challenges of life and secure in myself.  In so doing, I lose my edge, become complacent, perhaps even proud.

Pride and self-satisfaction are the enemies of a meaningful relationship with God. The secret to living in this culture of plenty without losing the longing for home is two-fold.  First, we must continually renew our minds with the words of God to wash away the seeds of the world before they take root.  Second, we must see the world through the eyes of God: corrupted, broken, misguided and lost.

We should rejoice in the blessings of God without growing lazy and self-fulfilled.  Only in Christ can such a balance be kept.