Things That Endure
Contrasted With
Things That Perish
"Perish" means to
put an end to, to ruin or to destroy. Spiritually speaking "perish"
means to give one over to eternal misery in hell. "Endure" means to
remain or abide to be held or kept. Endure is the opposite of perish. John
wrote, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God
the Father has set His seal on Him." (John 6:27.)
Spiritual food endures
while physical food perishes. What did John have in mind when he wrote,
"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures
to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the
Father has set His seal on Him." (John 6:27)? The result of seeking spiritual
good will be that which is eternal or imperishable. Material, physical food
perishes when eaten. The body sustained by this food will also perish. The
spiritual man lives forever and the spiritual food which sustains him does not
perish. This was, in fact, a contrast between the fleshly body and our
spiritual man. One endures while the other perishes. Let us give the most of
our attention to the one which will endure.
God's word endures while the
word of men perishes. Fleshly man, his word and his glory quickly
perishes. But the word of the Lord endures forever. Peter writes, "Because
all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The
grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures
forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you."
(I Peter 1:24-25.) Man's teaching will perish but that which has been uttered
by the voice of the living God will endure. Peter's words are a quotation of
Isaiah 40:6-8. "The voice said, 'Cry out!' And he said, 'What shall I
cry?' All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the
field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord
blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower
fades, but the word of our God stands forever." A person is made new by
the entrance of God's enduring words. No words from men could ever renew a lost
soul.
God's mercy endures
while hope for the unjust perishes. I Chronicles
A strong faith endures
while gold perishes. Peter wrote of those with strong, enduring faith.
He said, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if
need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your
faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by
fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus
Christ." (I Peter 1:6-7.) Gold may perish even though it had been tried
with fire. A faith, enduring through severe trails is more precious than
perishable gold. Gold is of an earthly origin. Our faith is heavenly in origin.
God is both the object and the origin of faith. Faith lifts us to God while
gold tends to drag us to the earth.
The name of the Lord
endures while the names of men perish from the earth. In each
generation there are those people with whom others are enamored. But in time
those names perish from the remembrance of men. Often people will declare what
will happen when this one or that one dies. What happens is, the world goes on
and those we thought the world could not get along without are soon forgotten.
But, "Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout
all generations." (Psalm 135:13.) God is the everliving, unchanging God.
Generations of men come and go, but God is always the same. Therefore let us
render humble service to our powerful Creator.
The truth of the Lord
endures while the opinions of men perish. Man's opinions constantly
change in religious matters. But, God's truth endures. The psalmist said of
God, "For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the
Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 117:2.) In any land and in
any generation the truth of the Lord endures. What was truth is still truth.
What was truth to Paul is still truth to us. Our obligation is not that of
forming some great religious platform; but that of learning and obeying truth.
This is true because "the truth of the Lord endures forever."
"For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to
all generations." (Psalm 100:5.)
The righteous man
endures forever white the unrighteous soul will perish. The psalmist
described the blessed state of the righteous in Psalm 112:1-6. "Praise the
Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be
blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures
forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious,
and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends;
he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken; the
righteous will be in everlasting remembrance." The effects of one righteous
life will be transmitted from generation to generation in that person's posterity.
Your righteousness can travel from age to age to bless coming generations.
Isaiah pleaded, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to
our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7.) The reason the unrighteous
man should forsake his way is for his own spiritual good and for the good of
those generations yet to come. When an unrighteous man leaves this world he
leaves his unrighteousness to trouble his posterity for generations to come.
What are you leaving behind?
There are many contrasts
between perishing things and enduring things. Do not allow your soul to perish
because of spiritual failures. To be saved we must hear the gospel of Christ
(John
By
Charles Box,