Pursuing Nothing

I was eating my breakfast one lazy summer morning, looking forward to an online ministry webinar I was going to attend that afternoon.

Until something weird happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my cat through the open back door, prowling after something in the backyard. I slid away from the dining table and checked to see what my cat was after this time. Straining my eyes, I expected to see some poor vulnerable bird or oblivious gopher.

But here’s the weird part.

There was NOTHING!

No bird.
No gopher.
No rodent.
No lizard.
No PREY!

Like seriously! I couldn’t see ANYTHING but green grass, plants, and the old wire fence that separates our yard from the neighbor’s yard.

Yet, my cat was still on an intense prowl after……..
Nothing.

What Paul Said

Paul wrote this in 2 Timothy 2:4–

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

(2 Timothy 2:4)

What does that verse mean? Well, I really like how The Passion Translation puts it:

For every soldier called to active duty must divorce himself from the distractions of this world so that he may fully satisfy the one who chose him.

(2 Timothy 2:4)

What does all this have to do with my cat and his prowl after nothing?

Before I tell you, I’d like to direct your attention to another verse Paul wrote:

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 4:18)

So, how do these two Bible verses–along with my cat’s prowl after nothing–mean for us? And how do they all apply to our modern, 21st century lives as Christians?

A Sad Reality

Just one last verse, and we’ll fully delve into the primary meaning and application of these things.

Jesus told His disciples in the book of Luke:

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly

(Luke 21:34)

In the verses we’ve just looked at, God exhorts us to not become entangled and drunk with the world and all of its cares, pleasures, entertainments, and standards.

Why?
Simply because of two reasons:

1. They are TEMPORARY
2. They are–if we REALLY think about it–just NOTHING

Yet, like my cat, so many of us get caught up in a prowling pursuit after things which–from the viewpoint of Eternity–are simply and plainly NOTHING.

And when Christ returns in glory and power, all these worldly things will BE NOTHING.

A Cat or A Christian?

Dear reader, I wanna appeal to you to seriously look back on your life and ask if you’ve been chasing more after God or chasing more after the world. Have you been on an intense prowl after things that are NOTHING in Heaven’s eyes? What’s your primary focus now in life: God & His will or the world & its expectations?

Friend, if you feel convicted that you’ve been chasing after more of the world and less of Jesus, then I wanna appeal to you to just pray:

Amen! Maranatha!