Tuesday, April 27
“To enjoy true happiness we must travel into a very far country, and even out of ourselves.” — Thomas Browne.
Look at that above quote, written in the 1600s. Do you agree or disagree? Read it in the context of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and of Revelation 3:12.
Augustine wrote of the human condition: “This life of ours — if a life so full of such great ills can properly be called a life — bears witness to the fact that, from its very start, the race of mortal men has been a race condemned. Think, first, of the dreadful abyss of ignorance from which all error flows and so engulfs the sons of Adam in a darksome pool that no one can escape without the toll of toils and tears and fears. Then, take our very love for all those things that prove so vain and poisonous and breed so many heartaches, troubles, griefs, and fears; such insane joys in discord, strife, and war; … such fraud and theft and robbery; such perfidy and pride, envy and ambition, homicide and murder, cruelty and savagery, lawlessness and lust; all the shameless passions of the impure — fornication and adultery, incest and unnatural sins, rape and countless other uncleannesses too nasty to be mentioned; the sins against religion — sacrilege and heresy, blasphemy and perjury; the iniquities against our neighbors — calumnies and cheating, lies and false witness, violence to persons and property; the injustices of the courts and the innumerable other miseries and maladies that fill the world, yet escape attention.” — Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Gerald G. Walsh, S. J. trans. (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1958), book 22, chap. 22, p. 519.
Augustine’s quote could apply to most modern cities today; yet, he wrote it more than fifteen hundred years ago. Little about humanity has changed, which is why people want an escape.
Fortunately, however tough our situation now, the future is bright, but only because of what God did for us through the life, death, resurrection, and high-priestly ministry of Jesus Christ — the ultimate fulfillment of the covenant promise made to Abraham that, in his seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed.
Look at the quote from Augustine. Write something in your own words to describe the sad situation in the world today. At the same time, look up whatever Bible texts you can find that talk about what God has promised us in Jesus Christ (for example, Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Revelation 22:2-5). Dwell on those promises. Make them your own. Only then can you truly grasp what the covenant is all about.
