Eternity… what a word to ponder. Especially in the days and times that we are living in… What does eternity mean to you? If you truly decided to live every day like it was your last day, how would you live it? What would be your focus? What would be your goal?

Allow me to be vulnerable with you and tell you that there were times when I had wanted to give up and have had to go to God and ask Him to refocus my perspective. To give me eyes to see what He sees, ears to hear what He wants me to hear and a heart to receive what He wants to pour out. There have been days when I have had to really shift how I was looking at something. With all the events that can happen in our lives daily to get us off track, whether in the news or in our day to day life, losing focus can be easy. BUT GOD.

Colossians 3: 1-3 tells us,

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

So how do we view life in light of eternity?

We view it by remembering that this world is NOT our home.  This is all temporary compared to what is to come. To see life in light of eternity is living for Jesus Christ and focusing on the things of heaven and not this earth.  How do you do this? If you continue reading Colossians 3, it talks about clothing ourselves with our new nature which consists of compassion, kindness and humility and putting to death our old nature which is everything contrary to that.

When you set your sights on Jesus and the eternal reward of being with Him, it makes running this race so much sweeter. We don’t run for the treasures here on earth but for what is to come.

As 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 says:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

What are you running for?

What are your sights set on?

The things of this earth or what is to come?

If we look at the life of Jesus we can see that He was constantly seeing everything through an eternity mindset.  As it says in John 5:19, He only did and said what He saw His Father doing. Jesus focused on the heavenly kingdom and didn’t let what things looked like in the natural deter Him. He came on a mission to seek and save the lost. After His resurrection, He then commissioned the disciples to go out and do everything He had taught them to do and more.

Matthew 28: 18-20 says:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In light of eternity, keeping our focus on God’s kingdom is what we are here for. Are you doing all you can to spread the good news with what God has put in your hands? Ephesians 5:16 also tells us to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

Our hope is in Jesus and with the frailty of life, we have to spread the hope and joy we now have in Him. As Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This is such good news!! To be secure in Him is what gives us the confidence to march on.

If we go to the Old Testament, we will see King David (a favorite of many).

David was a man who had his confidence anchored in the Lord. Even though David made many mistakes, He was still called a man after God’s own heart and his assurance was always in the Lord. He always prayed for an undivided heart. An undivided heart is a heart that’s posture is surrendered towards God. It is one that is willing to be consecrated and set apart for the Lord’s purposes. 

Psalm 86:11 says:

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

When you lay it all down and have a heart posture of constant surrender, your vision gets clear… you see things through the eyes of Jesus. Your attention shifts towards kingdom purposes. You start to invest in the heavenly and forget about the earthly. You start to seek God’s heart in everything. This will open the door to ponder if certain choices are worth it in light of what is to come.

How clear is your vision? Is it muddled with the cares of this world or are you running this race with your eyes towards Christ?

As David so sweetly said in Psalm 121: 1-2:

 I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our Lord is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Great I AM.  We can truly rest in the finished work of Jesus. Regardless of what trials and circumstances come up, God promises to give us peace that comes from Him. The world’s idea of peace is the temporary absence of problems but God’s peace is the type that is at rest in Him in the midst of them. So how do we view life in light of eternity? We do it by not throwing away our confident trust in the Lord. We do it by not shrinking back but pressing on until that glorious day. We can take heart and be courageous. Jesus has overcome the world.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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