"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away,our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2Cr 4:16-18 ESV).
Afflictions are normal for believers.
Our sinfulness has brought upon suffering. When Adam and Even sinned
the world changed, and every single person that follows (with the
exception of Jesus) continues the practice of sinning.
Believers often
experience even more afflictions than others. The spiritual enemy is
real, deceptive, and relentless. Displaying Christ in our daily lives
makes the enemy upset, and spreading the gospel outrages the enemy.
So
why do we have afflictions? There are many reasons. For example we
experience afflictions because of our sin, spiritual warfare, growth,
displaying Christ, to give comfort to others, and many other reasons.
But here, in this passage, Paul gives a reason that should make us
thankful. The afflictions are preparing us for eternal paradise with God.
In
verse 17 he says that our afflictions are “light” and
“momentary.” If Paul said this to someone with a terminal illness
then he might have received a knockout punch to the jaw and been
placed in a sleeper hold. How can life-ending sicknesses be light?
Paul is comparing them to eternity. It would be like experiencing the
worst imaginable suffering for one minute and then having the rest of
your life work out perfectly. If you knew that the suffering would end in one minute and that you would have 100 years of perfection, then you wouldn't sit down in self-pity. Each second you would think about your perfect life which will arrive in one minute. But, in comparison, our life appears
shorter than one minute and eternity is much longer than 100 years.
Paul is not saying "light" and "momentary" as a person who has not suffered. Here is his list: "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:24-28). On top of this he says that he was often near death (v. 23).
While Paul is comparing the present to the future, he is also tying them together. He is saying
that there is a mysterious connection between the present and the future. The hurts prepare us for
heaven. The afflictions shape us for eternity. Paul says it this way.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal
weight of glory beyond all comparison” (v. 17).
Additionally, Paul uses the word “as” to demonstrate what we do while we wait (v. 18). We look to the things that are unseen rather than the things that are seen. Why? Because the things that you don't see will last forever, but the things that you see will pass away (v. 19). So don't lose heart. Keep your mind on the unseen and be encouraged that every big, medium, and small affliction is preparing you for paradise.
