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No matter how palatable or how awful you find this place, no one is a permanent resident here. We are only passing through: “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” Hebrews 13:14. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and all they that dwell therein. No matter how much you claim to like this place, you can never be able to secure a resident permit for an eternal stay here. You will one day discover that your time here is up and you will just have to leave. You are a sojourner here, you are passing through and you are admonished to pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. The mere fact that the time you have here should be spent in the fear of God; simply means that you are really not here to do your own.
“For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth unto himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s – Romans 14:7-8. We all came from God and unto Him we must return. It is a meeting no one can escape. You will return to Him to give account of what you did within the time He allowed for you here: “For their deeds will follow them” Revelation 14:13 (NJV). It is not enough to claim to be doing something, is there anything of eternal value attached to what you are doing? We are in His world for His glory, we are to pass our time here in fear. It’s only one life; it will one day be over and only what is done for the Lord will last eternity.
Passing our time here in fear entails the constraints and restraints we allow for ourselves, in line with the allowances of God’s Word for our lives. Passing our time here in fear means that not everything goes. It has to be what God wants and how He wants it. A life of constraints and restraints in line with the allowances of His Word for our lives will enhance accountability. Joseph restrained himself from the adulterous appeal of his master’s wife, because he feared God. How much of God’s fear you exhibit, sets you on duty in a world you are passing through as a sojourner: “Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” Ecclesiastes 12:13.
