ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY

ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ^while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

The Greek word for “light” means “a weightless trifle” and “affliction” refers to intense pressure. From a human perspective, Paul’s own testimony lists a seemingly unbearable litany of sufferings and persecutions he endured throughout his life (2 Corinthians 11:23–33), yet he viewed them as weightless and lasting for only a brief moment. The Greek word for “weight” refers to a heavy mass. For Paul, the future glory he would experience with the Lord far outweighed any suffering he experienced in this world (Romans 8:17, 18; 1 Peter 1:6, 7). Paul understood that the greater the suffering, the greater would be his eternal glory (1Peter 4:13).

Endurance is based on a person’s ability to look beyond the physical to the spiritual; beyond the present to the future, and beyond the visible to the invisible. Believers must look past what is temporary—what is perishing (i.e., the things of the world). Pursuing God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the souls of men should consume the believer.