We Are Only Passing Through

We Are Only Passing Through

1989 2 February 4-5 We Are Only Passing Through (541) When we indulge in the pleasures of this world, we should remember just how short-lived they are, and how worthless they are as objectives in themselves, and we should never become so engrossed in them that we lose sight of our true objective in the world hereafter.

The present world – if we could but realize it – is little more than a preview of the next world, a fleeting glimpse of the real and lasting blessings which will fall to our lot in paradise. We can only begin to grasp the meaning of the boundless joy of eternity, if we see our world as its mirror, if we see the good things of this life as pale reflections of the infinitude of blessings of the afterlife. We must remember that the limited and imperfect happiness that we experience on this earth can give us only the merest inkling of what is meant by eternal beatitude. But, even given an understanding of the ephemerality of the material things of this life, do we ever stop to consider that the blessings of the next life will be ours only if we set out unerringly towards our divine objective, treading the path of righteousness throughout our entire lives?

When we indulge in the pleasures of this world, we should remember just how short-lived they are, and how worthless they are as objectives in themselves, and we should never become so engrossed in them that we lose sight of our true objective in the world hereafter. One who becomes ever-engrossed in the pleasures of this world is like the traveller who drops off to sleep on the railway station platform and misses his train altogether. Even the traveller who is alert enough to continue on his way must be wary of the slowing effect of wayside attractions and must take care not to become so lost in a maze of pleasure-seeking that he ultimately fails to reach his destination. Nothing could be more foolhardy or lacking in foresight.

This world should serve as a constant reminder of the next, for that is where true success and failure lie. Wise is he who prepares during his life on earth for the next all-important stage of life. The first thing which must be appreciated is that the time allotted to us to live in this world is so short that we should see ourselves as only passing through it on our way to the next. We must also face up to the fact that when we leave it, we shall be empty-handed of all the material accretions of human existence. Man has been given this unique earth to live on, with air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat, but before he can have the full benefit of all the gifts which have been showered upon him by Almighty God, death comes to tear him away from his earthly moorings. And when he goes, all that he will take with him will be the sum total of his thoughts, words and deeds, whether good, bad or indifferent. It is only those who have lived their lives with consistent virtue who shall have no need to tremble on the threshold of the world that is to come.