?More Beyond?

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 8
 
In the city of Valladolid, the ancient capital of Spain, there stands a monument commemorating the discoveries made by Christopher Columbus.
The most noticeable feature of this monument is a lion with his paw raised as if to erase part of the words which had formed Spain's national motto for centuries past.
For many hundreds of years the sailors who had plowed the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea as far westward as the narrow strait through which they sailed into the great Atlantic, believed that they had reached the boundaries of the earth. Europe, Asia and Africa lay behind them, and nothing before them (as far as they knew,) but the limitless expanse of the ocean.
To them, the coast of Spain was "land's end." In the course of time, Spain adopted as her national motto, the three Latin words: "Ne plus ultra," which means, "Nothing beyond."
When Columbus returned from his eventful voyage in 1492 and reported that a vast continent and many islands lay far beyond the horizon, the motto "nothing Beyond" was seen to be untrue. There was something beyond. In the monument in Valladolid the sculptor has represented the lion of Castile as tearing from the scroll the word "Ne," and leaving the motto as it stands today— "Plus Ultra," which means, "More Beyond."
This makes us think of many today, both young and old, who think of "nothing beyond" the world in which they live. The range of their hopes and prospects is bounded by the horizons of their earthly life. They have no thought of anything that lies beyond what they see and the scenes in which they move from day to day. Eternity, with all its tremendous realities, is to them an unknown country.
How is it with you, dear reader. Are you living for this world? If so, you will have to leave it someday, for we read: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Heb. 9:27, 2827And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:27‑28).
Everything in this life passes away too.
"The world passeth away and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:1717And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:17).
If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus as your own precious Savior, then you are SAVED for all eternity with the Lord Jesus in that happy home above.