Perishable

BETHANY TIPPIN

My life is hectic and chaotic right now, so I sought out cleaning and organization to make me feel better. My daughter and I took my car to the car wash, cleaned the dash and the windows, threw away trash, vacuumed, and washed the outside. I reached down into the space in the passenger side rear door, the side where my son often sits, and grabbed wrappers, cans, and… a rotting apple core. 

My fingers brushed the squishy, brown apple core and shuddered away. Gross! 

Immediately, the words of John 3:16 played in my head: “For 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.” Perish. We don’t use this word very often anymore, except in the context of food. Non-perishable foods come in cans and shelf-stable boxes, are dried or preserved in some way. Perishable foods are those that when left to sit out in the climate of every day begin to rot. 

My son’s apple core reminded me of the normal decay of the natural world. Jesus warned his disciples not to pile up treasures here on earth where “moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal” (Mt 6:19-20). He urged them instead to lay up “treasures in heaven.” 

Where is your treasure? And where are you placing your trust? If it’s on the things of this world, I’m sorry to say, we’re going to be disappointed.