It Is the Best of Times, It Is the Worst of Times

This came up in a lunch conversation yesterday, and I thought it was worth sharing.

If you are a believer, whatever is going on today, it is temporary. A "slight momentary affliction" that is "preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," according to the Apostle Paul (2 Cor 4:17). And so no matter how bad it is, whatever you are going through right now is transient. And even the best of Earth pales beside the promise of things to come.

For the unbeliever, it's the opposite. If you are not a follower of Christ, what you see at this moment is as good as it gets. "That can't be true," you might say. "If only you knew my circumstances--they are horrible!"

I believe that. And I believe that you think things couldn't get any worse. But the reality is this: God is restraining his wrath, and any "evil" you experience now will pale beside His full fury poured out against sinners. Against you.

You have rejected God; you have broken His perfect law. And because of the resultant offense against His person, your only hope of abating His anger is to admit your sin and unbelief, and repent (that is, turn away) from your sin, accepting God's grace expressed through the death of His son Jesus, who died to pay the penalty for your sins.

Or pay the penalty yourself one day, very soon.

"It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." (Heb 9:27). This life is but a breath, and is the best of times for those who die in unbelief. But for those who believe, the worst of times are now, and the best is yet to come.


All Bible quotes from the ESV