Visiting on the beach one...
Illustration
Visiting on the beach one afternoon, I observed with some interest two children who were totally absorbed in building the sand castle of their dreams. I was really amazed at the length of their attention span and how oblivious they were to all the commotion on the beach. They were about four years of age, and I was not accustomed to seeing children at that age concentrating on a task for two to three hours.
Early the next morning, I was returning from a walk on the beach just as the two children were coming from their condominium across the walk to the beach. As they reached the spot where they had been working late the previous afternoon, they both suddenly stopped. They looked up the beach and down the beach, and finally their gaze returned to the spot where they had been working the previous day. Then, as if orchestrated by an unseen conductor, they both looked at each other and burst into tears. They both realized in the same moment that all their earlier efforts had been washed away by the tide during the night.
Like those two small children, I see many adults who labor diligently in their life's work and who suddenly become distraught with the realization they have given themselves to a task that will be washed away by the incoming tide. They have worked diligently at building their sand castles -- a company, a large estate, fame, or whatever it is -- only to have them washed away by the waves. One can understand how little children might not have that foresight to consider the eventual end of their efforts, but what about adults?
St. Paul speaks so eloquently about the nature of the eternal kingdom which we inherit through the resurrection of Christ, and then he concludes chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians by stating the truth that our labors in Christ will never be washed away, "... in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
Early the next morning, I was returning from a walk on the beach just as the two children were coming from their condominium across the walk to the beach. As they reached the spot where they had been working late the previous afternoon, they both suddenly stopped. They looked up the beach and down the beach, and finally their gaze returned to the spot where they had been working the previous day. Then, as if orchestrated by an unseen conductor, they both looked at each other and burst into tears. They both realized in the same moment that all their earlier efforts had been washed away by the tide during the night.
Like those two small children, I see many adults who labor diligently in their life's work and who suddenly become distraught with the realization they have given themselves to a task that will be washed away by the incoming tide. They have worked diligently at building their sand castles -- a company, a large estate, fame, or whatever it is -- only to have them washed away by the waves. One can understand how little children might not have that foresight to consider the eventual end of their efforts, but what about adults?
St. Paul speaks so eloquently about the nature of the eternal kingdom which we inherit through the resurrection of Christ, and then he concludes chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians by stating the truth that our labors in Christ will never be washed away, "... in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
