“Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”

“the outward man is perishing”

As a young man, I used to commute an hour each way to work every day by bicycle; the money it saved helped to support the family, and it was healthy exercise.  But now, it can take me that same hour to get from bed to my first cup of coffee while still in my pyjamas!

And funerals are now beginning to become a part of life.  Perishing is a reality!

If our hopes are based on the physical fitness of youth, the latest gadgets, our favourite hobbies, or the people God has given us to love and care for, we will be disappointed.  The fitness goes, technology gets beyond us, our hands for hobbies grow weak, and too many families fragment.

“the inward man is being renewed day by day”

The amazing outcome is that we do not lose heart or despair, we are given new hope each day, and new purpose and tasks.  Even while we are aware of how we fall short of who Christ wants us to be, this still points to the fulfilment of his promise, in Romans 8:11, “… He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Our hope lies in what Jesus has already achieved on the cross, and the new life he gives as he lives in us.

Verse 4:18 reads, “… the things which are not seen are eternal.”