Which Era are we Living in and does it matter?

Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: Isaiah 65:21-22 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Observation: This is the exact opposite of what the prophet Zephaniah said in Zephaniah 1:13 Their wealth shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.

Application: The prophet Isaiah is proclaiming a new era. Some of the people to whom he speaks have lived through another era, the kind that Zephaniah prophesied earlier. But through Isaiah God proclaimed a new thing, a new way of life, a new period of time.

Well over 20 centuries later, a new question comes to mind: which of these two types of eras are we living in now? Will we enjoy the fruits of our labors or will we simply leave them to another?

In a time of rapidly changing retirement programs, some are left to wonder.

But in some ways to focus on either is to miss the still greater point—our lives are to be entrusted to God’s hands.

Today I was also struck by Psalm 62:9 “Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.”

Regardless of our earthly ‘status,’ regardless of whether or not we get to enjoy the fruit of our labors, we are called to be fruit for our Lord. Our faithfulness simply cannot be measured in earthly terms. The Scripture doesn’t say that those of high estate are worse than those of low estate. Both are but a breath, even lighter than a breath.

That means that our lives and all the baggage we carry along that way is still not too heavy a burden for our Lord to bear. People of every era ultimately belong to God.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the reminder that we need not worry about keeping track of the eras but, rather, simply give thanks that in every era you keep track of us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Isaiah 65-66, Psalm 62 and John 3)