I just ran into this while piddling around. Eugene Peterson says it so well in The Message. I remember the first time I picked up a copy of The Message. I believe it was the Psalms or possibly the Gospels. Wasn’t too impressed; didn’t look at it again until years later. What the heck was I thinking? 🙂
Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us?
When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.
But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing.
Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.
Sooner or later we’ll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions.
We will appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad.
That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure.
It’s no light thing to know that we’ll all one day stand in that place of Judgment.
That’s why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God.
God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care.
(2 Corinthians 5:8-11 MSG)
