Daily Devotion

“God did not create us in this world merely to beget children and carry on our kind, to amass wealth, to leave a famous name, or to feast and make merry. God created humankind in the world to reverence and love Him, and after this life to reward them in heaven with the everlasting bliss of God Himself. Our time in the world is short, no more than a temporary stay; heaven is our true home. We are now in the world as on a journey, so we should regard the things of this world as things we pass by the roadside, and not let our hearts cling to them.”

Ferdinand Verbiest · Jiaoyao xulun (An Introduction to the Essentials of the Doctrine, 1670)

Scripture

1 Chronicles 29:15 We are strangers and sojourners before you, just as our ancestors were. Our days on earth are like a shadow, they will not last.

Reflection

We often mistake a temporary stay for a permanent home, relentlessly chasing after fleeting fame and wealth that we cannot take with us. As the scriptures say, life is but a fleeting shadow. This passage reminds me not to be bound by immediate gains and losses and anxieties, but to face the world with the detached mindset of a "stranger." By turning our gaze to eternity, and in our limited years bearing the fruit of love and accumulating heavenly treasures, we can live a life of true richness and great peace.