Anyone that lives in the great state of Texas, myself included, looks forward to the rare occasion of witnessing an inch or two of snow on the ground. If it isn’t the inevitability of the entire education system shutting down that we love, then its the beautiful sites of endless pastures and hills covered in white. In my own opinion the world becomes almost dream like, as an impossibility entering reality. Texans learn to enjoy all of the snow that they can, for they know that by the end of the day it may all be gone.
What’s funny about it all is the amount of attention that this bitter weather seems to attract. Wherever you go and whoever you talk to, the snow seems to be at the center of conversation. No matter if the snow falls for thirty minutes or just five. Its certain to make the news! As you scroll through your social media feeds, they are all occupied by selfie videos featuring the snow flakes, or your best friend slipping and falling down the stairwell (I won’t mention any names). Some people make their best attempts to create a snowman (only to quickly run out of resources), while others hunt for the perfect slope to test their make-shift sled. The objective of the day seems to be, Have fun and don’t get frostbite.
As the beautiful white covering begins to melt away, this “dream world” fades back into reality, and the joyous time becomes a memory. Its a sad goodbye for those who love the winter wonderland, but a glorious welcoming and celebration for those who love the appearing of the sun. As I was reflecting on the rather unusually long and freezing last couple of days, I thought about how this all relates to the life of a Christian.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
-James 4:13-17
To be Honest, we as human beings tend to make some pretty ridiculous plans to grasp a piece of this world that will soon melt away just as quickly as the Texas snow. Even christians, myself included, become lured in by the enticements of the current world just as a dream. The danger of this is that it soon becomes easy to mistake this dream for reality (True reality being the kingdom of God). Our efforts turn from investing in the kingdom of God to investing in the dream. However, we must realize that we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment. The dream comes to an end and our investment in riches and treasures of the earth fade into nothingness. For these things are only temporary. The Bible says that our lives are like a mist or a vapor, and I’m not so sure that we take this seriously. We are here on earth for just a little while until one day we will look back on our lives and realize just how quickly it has come and gone. In that moment I don’t think that we will reflect on our accomplishments, our assets, or our fame. I think that we will reflect on the ones that we love, the joy of life, and …. what comes next. Being with God. He is the one that was there at the beginning, with you during the journey, and continues to be, into eternity. This is a truth concerning both the believer and the non-believer.
What would happen if we as Christ followers chose to reflect on these things now? Today? Instead of pressing on toward our accomplishments, building our assets, and making our name known, what if chose to focus on the ones that we love? And not just the ones that are already a part of our family, but also the ones that could be. What if we set out to find the joy of life each day, because we understand that it is all a gift from our Father to fill us with love. What if we looked forward to what’s next? If we so anxiously waited for the sun reveal itself from the clouds, melting away the world that we live in now, but also bringing to us the most beautiful, perfect, Real, and eternal world in which our Father dwells? What would happen?
Let’s find out.
Help us to invest in your eternal kingdom by seeking to know your plan for us each day and doing what is right. Remind us of what is temporary and what truly matters. Fill us with your love that it might overflow to touch other lives that connect with ours. May we look forward to the return of your Son and the coming of your eternal kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen.
Grace and Knowledge 
That was so very inspiring.We see snow about every 20 years, but the one’s that live with it all winter tire of it like anything else. I had prayed for snow at Christmas, it came to me later, Thank you Lord and Mark raked enough up to make 7 inch snowman, it lasted a couple of days.
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