Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

Bountiful in much, a man may boast and yet find little delight, for his heart is not satisfied. Men have acquired the world’s wisdom, power, wealth, successes, and praises only to discover that it is all worthless. It cannot satisfy the heart of man.

The heart is wicked and deceitful, promising delight where it cannot be found. And the poor man thinks within himself, “If only I had such opportunities, then I too would be happy.” Oh, these miserable souls, knowing not the lies of the evil one nor the deceitfulness of their own hearts. Their delight, their meditations in the night, and their dreaming during the day are fixed upon that which they will never attain.

One man finds himself at the pinnacle and sees what the poor man cannot: it is not what he expected.

Yet the poor man still dreams and despises the rich man, believing him to possess what he himself will never attain. Meanwhile, the man of worldly wisdom, wealth, and power discovers the emptiness of it all. As beauty fades, health diminishes, and the pleasures that once delighted him begin to mock him, those delicacies once enjoyed now become bitter to him. The heart grows hardened through the lies and temporal pleasures of this world.

This wicked man does not find grace beautiful. He would rather taste death and be swallowed up in it, despising God for taking from him what he most loved, for these things could never bring the joy he desired. Yet he would not have Christ, whose worth surpasses all.

For all the good a man may do and all the legacy he may leave behind, in the end it shall all be burned up and found to be nothing, worthless before a holy God who neither regards his works nor counts his service as any good apart from Christ. What remains to other men may serve them for a little while in this life, but if in the end it is found worthless before God, then what is it worth to you, O man, to spend your life storing up wrath for the day of wrath, that your soul should perish and all your works be consumed by fire?

For the little a man has in Christ is far greater than the immeasurable worldly wisdom, wealth, and power another man leaves behind in the world.

One man, to the neglect of his own soul, labors for what is temporal. He acquires much and leaves much behind. Another man finds nothing of greater value than to know Christ and to live in obedience to Him. What he possesses may account for little in the eyes of the world, yet what he has is precious to him, for he now sees rightly what once he did not. He has Christ.

And that his soul prospers in every way as he walks in obedience to God. Whether his works are esteemed by men or despised by them, they honor the Lord. What else, O man, do you need? Christ is enough. Be content in Him. Delight yourself in Him.

For what is despised and pitied by men may yet be pleasing in the sight of God: your obedience, your trust, your faithfulness unto Him. And what fruit shall come of it you do not know. That belongs to the Lord. It shall not be burned with fire.

Your soul shall be saved, and in your obedience your works shall glorify Him, for they are His. You are His. Delight yourself in Him.