Conquest Of The World Series

Long ago an Eastern King, who was plagued by many troubles

and worries, called his wise men together and asked them to

compose a brief motto that would help him to face times of distress.

He required them to make it brief enough to be engraved on his

ring, and yet so profound and true that it would be appropriate to

every situation. It must be such a universal and enduring truth that

it would be a guide both in prosperity and adversity. This was no

small order, and so the wise men were hard put to come up with

anything that could fit every circumstance. At last, however, the

arrived at a motto of 5 words they felt would meet the need. Those 5

words were, "This too shall pass away." They felt that the

recognition that the circumstances of life are also temporary would

be a great source of comfort.

This story and the motto have been passed down for centuries.

Many poet and philosophers have picked it up and spread its

influence. One day over a century ago and American editor by the

name of Paul Hamilton Hayne came across the legend and published

a story about it. It created such an interest that he wrote a poem

that was widely distributed. It was carried around in pockets and

purses for comfort in times of trial. Since then many have put the

theme into poetry, and one of the best I have read is that by Grace

Noll Crowell. It goes like this:

This, too, will pass. O heart, say it over and over,

Out of your deepest sorrow, out of your deepest grief,

No hurt can hurt can last forever-

perhaps tomorrow will bring relief.

This, too, will pass. It will spend itself-its fury

Will die as the wind dies down with the setting sun;

Assuaged and calm, you will rest again, forgetting a thing that is done.

Repeated again and again, O heart, for your comfort;

This, too will pass as surely as passed before

The old forgotten pain, and the other sorrows that once you bore.

As certain as stars at night, or dawn after darkness,

Inherent as the lift of the blowing grass,

Whatever your despair or your frustration-this, too, will pass.

William Cowper who wrote many hymns sums it all up briefly

in two lines.

Beware of desperate steps; the darkness day,

Live till tomorrow, will have passed away.

Ordinarily the Christian does not gain comfort from a

philosophy growing out of a legend, but in this case the truth of it

happens to be biblical. In Job 11:16 we read of one of his

comforters saying, "Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it

as the waters that pass away." We know he was right, and Jobs

misery did pass. There is no doubt of it that life is filled with its

trials and miseries, yet there is also no doubt that they pass away.

There is great comfort in knowing that negative circumstances can

change, and sometimes very quickly. This is helpful, but it is still far

from being the best news that God has for the believer. John says

that the world and its lusts are going to pass away, and elsewhere

the New Testament says heaven and earth will pass away, and tears,

trials and temptations will pass away. But John goes on to improve

on the motto that bad things will pass away. In 5:4 he says that

those born of God can overcome the world while it is still here. We

do not have to just grin and bear it and wait for all evil to pass away

before we can live a victorious life. We can be victorious right now

in the midst of it all.

It is true that it will all pass away, but why not go one better and

make your motto that faith is the victory today. Many Christians

are traveling through life second and third class when God has

made first class provisions through Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we

would have tribulation in the world, but He also said to be of good

cheer because He has overcome the world. His overcoming is

already a fact that we can celebrate right now. John does not say

that the Christian can be victorious over the world, he says that the

Christian already is victorious. Those born of God have a faith that

is victorious over the world, and in verse 5 John implies that no one

but the true person of faith in Christ can overcome the world. By

the world he means all of the forces that oppose God and His

kingdom.

If Christians only believed half of what the Bible says about the

victorious Christian life, the world would be in perpetual revival,