The Abiding Things
Wayne Turner

What a world we are living in!  Terrorism, piracy, war, economic meltdown, unemployment, home foreclosures, corporate failures, pandemic diseases, natural disasters – just to begin the list.  In the past few months, people have seen the stability of their economic worlds devastated, their financial futures collapsed.  Hope and confidence have been replaced by fear and uncertainty.

Many centuries ago, Jesus warned His followers that earthly treasure was insecure.  It could be corrupted by moths or rust, or stolen.  He advised them to invest their lives in those things that are eternal, untouched by the vagaries of the world. 

Since He said those words, countless nations and cultures have come and gone.  Seemingly undefeatable empires have collapsed.  Few things remain, except the ruins of their once majestic structures – the pyramids and sphinx of Egypt, the Acropolis and Parthenon of Greece, the Coliseum of Rome.  These are all graphic reminders of the marvelous ingenuity and creative ability of humankind, but also its impermanence and uncertainty.  In the face of time and change, we are powerless to create anything truly permanent.  No matter how hard we try, we always must face instability and uncertainty.

If living in uncertain times today teaches us anything, it is that there are very few things ultimately worthy of our trust.  Nothing physical lasts.  We need something that is permanent - something that transcends the passing things of this world.

When Paul visited Corinth, some of its buildings had stood for centuries.  They must have seemed permanent. The Temple of Apollo was over 600 years old.  Today, only ruins remain.  Perhaps it was not coincidental that when Paul wrote to the church there, he said there are three things that will abide, literally, until the very end of time: faith, hope and love. 

For some time, those involved with the Gospel Herald have been discussing having periodic, theme-related issues.   This is the first in what we hope will be a quarterly project.  Our theme this month is “Faith, Hope and Love in Uncertain Times.”  We are indebted to Paul Birston, one of our associate editors, for accepting the work of planning and organizing these issues. 

In this issue, Roy Merritt looks at “Uncertainties in Bible Times and in Ours.”  God’s people have always had to face uncertainty.  They learn to use it as an opportunity for growth knowing with Christ, life “is full of optimism and assurance of still better times to come.”  In “Faith in Uncertain Times,” Thayer Salisbury explores the thought that in uncertain times, where faith is placed is important.  “The strongest faith in a weak object is powerless.” Faith must be placed “in the proper object…the power and plan of God.”  Geoffrey Ellis writes about “Hope in Uncertain Times.”  Our hope is not “merely a subjective projection of the future.  It is “grounded in present realities that issue from the future...tomorrow’s reality for today.”   Richard Kruse challenges us to practical action in “Love in Uncertain Times.”  Love is a “…decision of the will (which) expands in ever widening circles” reaching out to our families, our communities and even our enemies.