Subscription Lists

Have you ever seen a greased pig contest at a county fair - Boys and girls together in a circular area chasing a small but deliberately greased pig? It is chaos! Every one chasing an animal that has a mind of its own only to be disappointed when they lay a hand on the poor pig who wriggles away and escapes yet another time to a more distant and deserted area of the ring. Practically speaking, if the pig didn’t tire, no one would catch the animal. Life can be like that greased pig! Let me explain.

The psalmist wrote, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. [Selah] Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than [vanity] vapor.” (Psalm 62.8-9). What is lighter than nothing? My answer: Nothing can be lighter than nothing. God’s answer: The lives of men who focus only on the material! In fact, if such a life is placed in the balances, the balances go up; it is lighter than nothing. The more we try to fill our lives with material things the lighter they become! Compare it to a balloon containing helium; the more helium one pumps into the balloon, the lighter it becomes; as long as you keep putting helium in, it will never get any heavier!

So how do you make the balloon heavier? How do our lives ever gain weight in God’s balances? How can we ever get to the point that we can be weighed in the balances and not be found wanting? The answer is simple but quite unnatural. Like the balloon filled with helium, in order for our lives to become heavier, they must be filled with something besides ourselves and our accomplishments. As long as we keep pumping ourselves into the balloon, the lighter it will become. However, when we empty ourselves, it is ready to become heavier; it is ready to begin to have worth and to weigh something in God’s balances.

At that point in time, i.e. when we empty ourselves, life is ready to be filled with something of eternal weight, but we must be careful what we choose as that filler. In fact, here is the lesson – NOTHING of our choosing within this material universe has any eternal weight; only God has eternal weight. Only when we empty ourselves of our will, and pride, and wisdom can we begin to be filled with God, His will, His wisdom, and His worth. This was the lesson of Jesus to the rich young ruler in Mark 10.17-31. He ended this lesson with words to His disciples saying, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” In the analogy we are using, Jesus would have said, “Those who seek meaning in life through material things will end up weighing the least!”

Now back to the greased pig! How is all this related to a greased pig contest? It is really simple. Understanding the concept of how our life comes to have eternal weight is like putting a hand on the greased pig; it is difficult to do but it is possible. However, that is only a small part of the battle. Simply grasping the concept is not enough; it has to be held to the finish line! We can never relinquish our hold on this principle, not even for a second, else it will slip away!

Questions:

1. If men of high estate are lighter than vanity [vapor], who is able to weigh something in God’s balances?

2. Whose balances are being used when men weigh their own accomplishments apart from the spiritual aspects of our lives?

3. Whose balances will be used to weigh our lives in eternal judgment?

4. How much of myself do I have to pour into my life to become worth something in God’s balances?

"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

3 steps to peace...