“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 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 4:16-18
I quoted it once, I’ll keep quoting it again and again: Reading makes a full man, speaking makes a ready man, and writing makes a precise man. Make sure you put the commas in the right places (Reading makes a full, man).
But yeah, I don’t know, I’m seeing a difference between JB this morning and JB this afternoon. I think it’s been all the writing I’ve been doing that’s been helping me out.
See, I’ve not only committed to writing and sharing 1000 words a day, but from the looks of things I’m going to be writing at least three times more than that in the coming days. There’s a lot to write and share about, with regards to the ministry I’m involved in, as well as in some endeavors which I have to remind myself are more artistic – rather, they’re more personal to me, and I don’t really care if I make any money out of them, I’m just thankful that I’m able to express myself through the photography I made and make, combined with the tools I’ve been provided for (Sorry, I needed to share that before I went any further). But yeah, supplementary writing is what’s on my mind right now, and I’m just glad I’m able to get it all done.
Perhaps that’s what’s making me feel better. That I’m able to share what I have in my mind so I’m more flexible – more storage space means more space for my mind to move (is that what $CHIA is on about?).
But here’s the thing. See the verses I shared at the onset of this article? Well, I wrote about that as part of the said ‘supplement’ for my manipulated photos, which I will soon be posting as non fungible tokens. I’m particularly attracted to the prospect of NFTs associated to me – that means, no watermarks are needed, but I still have proof of ownership for my work. Working in the NFT space has had me learning so much about the need to continue clarifying the central message, the narrative I have in sharing what photos I share. It has me working on old shoots that I totally forgot about, and it has me looking at photos with a critical eye, as I now need to determine which photos can be shared on Instagram, and what other photos can be processed, edited, and/or shared on NFT sites. As a result I am finding out more about myself, discovering my attitude in every shot – which shots were taken with intention, which shots were taken with disappointment, which shots taken with too much intention, and more.
Looking at all these photos is like looking at market charts for those more adept in economics – You see past behaviors, and from there, you’re able to make some educated guesses on what happens next.
Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there again. Anyway, yeah, I was writing about 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. As I was driving around an hour or two ago, I was thinking, was what I was feeling a result of what I’ve been experiencing as of late – that is, the deterioration of things I thought were good deals, and the fallibility of people I thought were my heroes? And it’s not just news of relatives getting sick, but I see that a majority of prayer requests in our church are about us praying for the health of friends and their families, as well. I suppose I was losing heart with the rest of the ship, and it was all because of things which I apparently put too much trust on, more than they deserved.
In the face of all that is going on, we are being told not to lose heart, the rest of the verses give us a sense of hope – everything in this reality is shaking and wasting away, but inside, not only have we been made perfect by Christ’s finished work, but we also need to be reminded that we move from glory to glory, and we continue to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And while that all sounds so mystical, it’s really just us understanding that we have a God, whom we call ‘Father’, always for us, and never against us, especially during these times.
To understand the good news of our righteousness – our right standing with God, independent of our works, but absolutely guaranteed by the finished work of Christ – is to understand that there is much more going on than the failures of this world. Indeed, as mentioned, these afflictions are not only momentary (meaning, they shall pass), but they are light – they are light, compared to – whoa – the ‘eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison’.
When all is being taken away from us, we do not lose heart! For Christ and His finished work have guaranteed for us much more in the heavenlies, weighing far more than anything we could ever have or experience in this reality. It is from the everlasting blessing of Emmanuel – God with us – that we can dismiss all in this reality as Solomon would put it bluntly – ‘meaningless’. For in Christ we have meaning.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In Christ, we do not lose heart – the things that would discourage us are momentary, and they are light compared to the heavy hope of Christ, who serves as our anchor, and in whom we trust.
In Christ, we take heart. The Truth of the matter is that Christ’s finished work has already overcome – the impact of Christ is timeless and borderless, overcoming beyond all Creation, and therefore engulfing the world. We take heart, for in eternity beyond time, and in infinity beyond space, Christ has guaranteed that we are loved. Oh, let me write that again – we are loved beyond time, loved beyond space, so everything our senses perceive as reality, as we read all this, has already been put under submission to Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha, Omega, Beginning, and End.
Christ is peace for all that happens to us, we do not lose heart.
Christ is power for all we make happen, so we take heart.
So much build up, just for that point.
But man, it’s all so worth it.
God bless us all.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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