Last night we attended an acrobatic show at the Chaoyang Theater in Beijing. The hour-long variety show was like a circus, with beautiful costumes, thrilling acts of daring and amazing skills. The performers began their training as young as six and endure a lot of pain to gain the strength and skill they need to attain and keep their capabilities. Famous acrobats from across China make up this action-packed show. Susan couldn’t contain her excitement and kept elbowing me throughout the show, asking, “Did you see that?” With a thousand-year history, the Chinese are famous for their acrobatic performances and this one didn’t disappoint. That was only one of many shows they would put on that night. To us it was a great performance, but to them, it was their life.
As we watched the show it occurred to me, this is nice, but it is not “life” or even an important part of it. I was so happy to get to witness their live performance and admire their talents. With all that is going on in the world these days, this is but a brief distraction from the “important” events of life.
Besides the usual death and destruction going on around the world, terrorists are intent on taking over the world in the name of their religion. They have little chance of success but will literally “die trying.”
A terrible disease is causing babies to be born with horrible birth defects across parts of America and it is continuing to spread. Authorities are spraying for mosquitoes, but they haven’t been able to stop the advance, let alone find a cure.
A Presidential election is taking place in the U.S. that won’t solve many of the world’s problems, no matter who “wins.” With dirty laundry of both flawed candidates being aired, it seems things will only get worse.
In relative terms, these “performances” will soon come to an end, and we can get on with our real life because, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). With the alternative being eternal death, it should be an easy decision.
Wayne Lance (2016)