A Precious Earthly Thing

July/August 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine

A Precious Earthly Thing

As the Lord brought articles together for this issue of the magazine, what has weighed on my mind is the connection between “earthly things,” which is the Feature topic, and the Son of Man. Our bodies are earthly things, of dust and to dust they will return (Gen. 2:7, 3:19, 18:27). Though common to every person, they are precious earthly things that are to be presented as “a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1 NASB ). Such a grand thought then begs challenging questions. How do we use our eyes and our ears? What do we look at and listen to – things honoring to God? Do our hands and feet glorify Him? What about the other parts of our bodies, and what about our minds?

Think now of the perfection lived out in the Son of Man, “Christ Jesus, who ... emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:5-8). We know that He always pleased the Father in what He did and thought – providing bread, meat and drink; giving the healing touch; speaking words of comfort, exhortation and correction; sharing the Word of God; revealing the Father; and the list could go on. Think also of His head, His hands, His feet and His side. How did He use them? We see the crown of thorns, the nail prints, the wound from which flowed blood and water. How did He use earthly things? He always pleased the Father. Do we walk in His footsteps, following His example of using all to glorify God?

Though our bodies, like the objects around us, are for this world only, we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, eagerly await the future. “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man ... flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption ... but we shall all be changed – in a moment ... Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:49-58 NKJV).

By Paul Alberts