“Because Jesus was
raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to
live for, including a future in
heaven—and the future starts
now!” 1 Peter 1:3, 4 (Message)
I don’t really understand eternity. I’m a historian: I analyze and seek to understand the past. That’s what makes sense: we can look at the historical record at what
events transpired, what people thought, how people acted, and so on, and then
we can come to some sort of conclusion about the truth and how that truth
affects us today. But eternity . . .
what do I do with an utter lack of a time frame? How do I wrap my mind around “no beginning
and no end”? Where are the markers? the signposts? the things that give a sense of before and
after? How can I tell if I’m making
progress without a way to look where I’ve been, whether physically or
temporally? Sorry, I just don’t get it.
Maybe that’s the point. Maybe that’s exactly what God tries to get
across to us: as you live in My
world—loving Me, worshiping Me, serving My people, living in the rhythm of life
with and for Me—you’ll find that your perspective on life changes. You’re no longer rooted in the here and now
of this world but rather living with a completely different mindset, a
completely different outlook on life and the way the world works. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven to
begin to experience the joy of worshiping God:
as we devote ourselves to our King and focus on Him, eternity starts
now. We don’t have to wait to do
something spectacular to get our names in the history books: we can give a cold drink to someone in need
and see the gratitude of Jesus in those eyes, and eternity starts now. We can set aside one day a week to worship
together and choose to lay down our daily burdens, telling the rest of the
world that for one day out of seven, the rush of time doesn’t exist—because
eternity starts now. Our God is
eternal, and as Jesus prayed in John 17, He and the Father are one; therefore,
if we are one with Jesus, then we, too, live in the same time frame—or lack
thereof—that God does. And if we are one
with God, then what matters to God matters to us. What hurts God hurts us. What makes God joyful makes us joyful.
As we live with a constant awareness of our
Master and learn to live in the rhythm of worship, loving, and serving, we find
that eternal life is not some far-off dream.
No, eternity starts now.
B.P.
Think about
it: How am
I spending my eternity today? What connection am I making between now and
hereafter?
No comments:
Post a Comment