Daily Devotions
Are You Living by the Line or the Dot?
Reading for January 8th: Genesis 25-26
Esau said, "I am about to die, of what use is a birthright to me?"
Genesis 25:32
Are you living by the line or the by the dot?
I remember a sermon from Bill Hall where he went up on the board and drew a dot and a line. The dot represented this life. The line represented eternity. The line, he said, only represented a tiny fraction of how long eternity is. In fact, the line is so long that it is something that exists only in our imagination.
The devil does all he can to draw our attention to the dot. Since the line of eternity is abstract and the dot is concrete, he has an advantage. Though we know intellectually that eternity is far more significant and consequential, it is not something we can see. So the devil is able to convince us of the lie that all that matters is what is happening to us right now in the moment.
But the line doesn't have to be an abstract thing to the believer. God has given us the ability to see it by faith. In fact, you can see it as clearly as the hand in front of your face. How has God helped us to see it?
BY GIVING US THE EMPTY TOMB!
The empty tomb gives us a glimpse into eternity. It conclusively demonstrates that death is a defeated enemy. Death is not a closed door to a believer who can see that the tomb is empty. Death is a doorway into heaven!
If we ever begin to get distracted by trivialities, all we have to do is look to that empty grave and be reminded that there is life beyond this one. The empty tomb is God's definitive statement to the believer in Jesus that death is not a period. It's simply a pause.
He is not dead!
He has risen!
And he is coming back to receive his own!
Father, thank you for the empty tomb! Thank you for giving our lives purpose and meaning and hope! Thank you for eternity! Give us a mind to live today for the line and not for the dot!
