Eternal Perspective
Anytime you watch a football game, more than likely there will be questionable calls made by the refs that could ultimately decide the direction of the game. Did the receiver get both feet inbounds? Did the center snap the ball in time? Did the running back have his knee down before he lost control of the ball. The refs then go to the replay booth and watch the game from different perspectives. People in general but Christians can have a tough time looking at what is right in front of their face and lose their perspective of everything.
Paul in 2 Corinthians is going to remind the church in the midst of everything they are going through to not lose perspective.
Sanctification
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16
Paul had every reason to lose heart. He was beaten, mocked, shipwrecked, and brought to the point of death all for the cross of Christ. He could have seen any one of those moments and lost his perspective. Paul points to this truth that though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. We are more like Christ now than what we were twelve hours ago. You are more like Christ now than when you first started reading this. Understanding sanctification is important for believers to understand rightly that we may interpret what happens in our life rightly that it all helps toward us becoming more Christlike.
Change of Perspective
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison — 2 Corinthians 4:17
Paul calls what he is going through “light momentary affliction.” Now to understand this more, we have to think of time as a rope. The life we live on a hundred-foot rope compared to an eternity is less than a hundredth of an inch. We would not be able to see it on the rope, and the point is that eternity is a long time compared to our life on earth. That logic would then tell us that we do not need to be so concerned as to what happens in this life compared to what happens in eternity. So then we ask, “How does that apply to me in my context today?” Everything in your life must be put in the perspective of eternity. The election chaos that has happened lately is “light momentary affliction” compared to eternity. The current trials you are facing in your life today are “light momentary affliction” compared to eternity. The affliction you face today Paul would say is “preparing for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” Be encouraged in this truth that what you face today is a small compared to eternity. This is not to say that the problems you face is small but look at them with the perspective of eternity.
Hope for the Future
As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
Paul had hope. He knew that every day he was being made more like Christ. He knew every situation he was in was light compared to eternity. He looked to that what he could not see, and he did not look to what he could see. Christians today look in faith to that which they cannot see. We have not seen God, but we look to him in faith knowing He is real. We did not see creation, but we believe in faith by what His Word says that God made everything. There is hope for us as believers today who has submitted to the Lordship of Jesus that we are being prepared for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
