Living For Eternity

Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
Set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth. 

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV)                                                                       
Rather train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.          

We need to see our lives and the world we live in in the context of eternity. Even as Christians, we are immersed in this world, earning a living, managing our day-to-day existence, supporting our friends and family, planning for the future, and serving in our church. We don’t always realise how much we are affected by the world’s thinking and priorities, which subtly infiltrate our attitudes and expectations. 

But God has a very different perspective. He knows that by far most of our lives will be spent with him, in heaven or on a new earth. His priority is to prepare us for that time and to get us ready for all that it offers - including sharing in his glory! Paul tells us of God's plan ‘according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.' (1) He is creating something more than the sum of its parts!

You may have heard individual Christians described as being ‘so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use’; but I wonder if we need to be more heavenly minded so that we can be more secure, more expectant and hopeful, and more effective in our daily living? 

As we read our Bibles and study what they say about this other reality, and meditate on it, it becomes more real, and this can change our whole outlook on life. John wrote ‘…but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself, as He is pure’. (2)

Let thoughts of eternity govern our earthly lives. 

Prayer - Lord, I want to grasp and believe the things you have revealed about yourself and the future you have prepared for your children. Help me to live in the expectation of eternity. 

(1) Ephesians 1:9-10  (2) 1John 3:2-3