Church bulletin for March
Is man just another animal? He can be according to Psalm 73:22, “I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.” In what way had the psalmist descended into something beast-like? As we read through the psalm we discover that he had drifted away from God. When he observed the prosperity of the wicked and the oppression of the righteous he began to wonder what life was all about. Was it really worth the effort of battling sin and serving a God who seemed indifferent to the plight of His own people.
When we become earthly in our outlook and lose sight of God and His purposes we have in fact become not unlike the animals. Animals live with no reference to God; they do not worship, love, trust or obey Him; they do not have a future hope; they cannot see past the here and now. Sadly this is the state of fallen humanity; created in the image of God, people live like animals. What is even more devastating is when it happens to Christians. This was the case for the psalmist.
The turning point is described in v17, “until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” It was when the bigger picture came into view that he returned to a correct perspective of things. The wicked have their day in the sun, but that day won’t last forever. They have an appointment with the judge. The righteous suffer in all kinds of ways, but that suffering won’t last forever. Heaven will soon become a reality (v25). In times of suffering and discouragement it is vitally important that we walk by faith and not by sight. Animals live according to their natural senses; Christians ought to live according to their spiritual senses.
2 Cor 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”