My younger brother jokes with me about my age and declares “I’m going to live to be 500 years old.” Yes, it’s a joke and he knows it. Even reaching 100 years is a rarity. However, I know this – I am alive eternally! My body will eventually cease to function, but Jerry will go on. Jesus says “Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.” (John 11) That’s not a joke!
Ever built a sandcastle on the beach only to have a wave
sweep in and wipe it out? After two or three waves have flowed over the beach
all evidence of your creation is gone. What a great illustration of the
temporary nature of life in this present world. Pondering the brevity of
life and recognizing the shifting sands of our existence, we could fall into
despair!
Some respond to the inevitability of their mortality by adopting the philosophy
of ‘eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.’ While it is important
to live fully, to love well, and to enjoy life, we are wise to remember that
the grave is not the end, that we are eternal beings destined to meet God, face
to face.
An old Gospel song I heard years ago included these lyrics -
With eternity’s values in view, Lord.
With eternity’s values in view;
May I do each day’s work for You, Lord,
With eternity’s values in view.
We do not have to wait for Heaven to live as an eternal
being. Eternity begins now. We can enjoy the hope, the promise, the
goodness of God even while we remain in these mortal bodies because we have, by
faith, started to live with Heaven in our heart.
Death is not a terror to that person who has the assurance of eternity. Next
month we will celebrate the Resurrection, remembering Christ’s empty Tomb, which
is the evidence of death’s defeat.
Begin to enjoy the best life possible in this temporal world by remembering Eternity,
keeping in mind that today’s choices are framed by the fact that this short
transit in time will be followed by a timeless existence in the Presence of
God.
A Christianity that remembers Heaven and Eternity will be richer, right now in
this world! Paul writes "if we have hope in Christ only for this life,
we are the most miserable people in the world. But the fact is that Christ has
been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those
who will be raised to life again." (1 Corinthians 15:19-20, NLT)
Are you tempted by despair as you realize just how quickly
life is passing?
Are you tempted to try to create immortality with grand schemes?
Choose instead to know, love, and serve Christ Jesus who is the proof of Eternity, Who has opened the way from death to life. Receive the gift of eternal life and make His Way your way today.
The word from the Word encourages us. We can live as eternal creatures, entering into life without end – even now in this world that is passing away. That’s no riddle. It is a fact! "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58, NLT)
(Video of this blog at this link)
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