A short time before his passing, Hulk Hogan gave an interview where he talked about the reality of the spiritual world and the illusion of reality in the physical world. When I was a young man, I heard this from several people but really did not comprehend what they were telling me. Many people today have the same thinking – how can anyone say that something you can see and touch not be real?
After many years, I began to understand. As an example from this motor head: I had a number of cars over the years that I really enjoyed driving and being seen in. I had a '60 TriPower Pontiac, a red '62 Chevy SS convertible with a “four speed, dual quad, positraction 409” (as the Beach Boys sang it), a '64 Pontiac GTO and a '66 Plymouth Belvidere that won me numerous trophies at the local drag strip.
I loved each of those machines and, at the time, they were my reality. Where are they now, I don't even want to think about it. Probably crushed and melted down for scrap metal years ago. They were here for a while, then they were gone. Just like the Bible tells us we are.
The same could be said for the houses I lived in over the years. They have a longer life span but they don't last forever. How many 400 year old houses are in your neighborhood. OK, when I was in Amsterdam many years ago I did see a few. I grew up in a house next to one that had been a stop on the underground railway. Mine was from the same era. The other house has been replaced by a doughnut shop and mine with a parking lot and small park.
We are not here forever and neither are the things we work for and spend our money on. That “reality” is a disappearing reality. I could go on about clothing where you get the latest style and next season it's out of fashion and you have to get something newer... or it just plain wears out. What used to be my favorite shirt is now one I wear when I am working around the house or car.
When we measure our reality by the things around us and the things we own, we have a shifting version that is constantly changing and has no guarantee of being there tomorrow. A long time ago we were awakened by flashing red lights out in our street. I looked at the window and saw flames coming from the house across the street. A little boy ran back in to get his jacket, but in the morning, the house was gone and so was the little boy. Things changed over night.
Last fall, we had two hurricanes hit our area within a few weeks of each other. Beautiful homes by the water now were submerged in four feet of water. More lives turned upside down.
I guess with all these changes, many people are still trying to hold on to the material world that they can see and touch as their “reality”, but there are things that don't change, they don't disappear over night. That is in the unseen spiritual world.
The Bible tells us that God, our Creator, is the same yesterday, today and forever. It says that the same spirit that gave wisdom to the Apostle Paul is still alive and well in the lives of those who accept Him. This is a reality that doesn't change with seasons or the fashion magazines or the rising and falling of the stock market. Paul talks about being content when he had plenty and when he had little because, in the big picture, those were all temporary circumstances.
So which reality is the best reality... one that can be snatched away in a moment or one that will still be there no matter what happens. The choice is ours and our choices determine our futures.