I took a trip recently and stayed in a motel.  Overall, my room was quite nice.  But there were a few things I needed to change.  I had to move the bed a little further away from the wall so I could sleep without being bothered by noise from the traffic.  Of course, this meant I also had to move the night stands.  The comforter on the bed was heavier than what I am accustomed to, so I bought another one to replace it.  When I did, I realized the new comforter clashed with the pictures on the wall, so I had to replace them as well.  The television was nice, but, since it is much easier for me to watch a television with a larger screen, I called the front desk and asked that a larger one be sent up to my room.  At last, everything was just like I wanted it to be!  I was all ready for a comfortable stay!

No, I didn’t do any of those things!  Even I know better than that.  I left the room just as it was when I got there.  Why?  Because I knew I was only going to be there for a short while.  I didn’t have to have everything exactly like I wanted it to be because I was only there temporarily.  There was nothing permanent about it!

Life is like that motel room, isn’t it?  We are only here for a short while (James 4:14).  There is nothing permanent about life on this earth (II Peter 3:10).

Why then, do we spend so much time focusing on the things of this world?  Why do we give so much attention to this present (fleeting, temporary) life and neglect the life (permanent, eternal) to come?  The apostle Paul wrote, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

And yet, we too often spend time trying to arrange and rearrange the things of this life.  We struggle to make everything in life just like we want it to be.  Our attention should be focused on the eternal.  “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).  Peter reminds us that we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth, merely passing through – “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (I Peter 2:11).

Friends, it’s ok if not everything in this life is the way you want it to be!  Life, after all, is a motel room!