Living Above The World

The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Proverbs 10:28

William Tennent, a friend of preacher George Whitefield, died one day—or so it seemed. People gathered for Tennent’s funeral, but the doctor wasn’t sure he was dead and sent the people home. The patient eventually opened his eyes and explained that while he was unconscious, he had envisioned himself in heaven. The glory of what he saw was unutterable—and there was indescribable joy.

For years afterward, Tennent testified that he felt such a “sense of divine things” that everything else seemed vain. “Such was the effect on my mind of what I had seen and heard, that if it be possible for a human being to live entirely above the world, and the things of it . . . I was that person.”^a

Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one knows sleepless nights and deep sorrow. But as believers, we also know that during the dark hours we’re not alone. God’s comfort surpasses understanding. We anticipate heaven, and that enables us to live above the world.

I want to live above the world, though Satan’s darts at me are hurled; for faith has caught the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.

JOHNSON OATMAN