In this world, most people live for what they can accomplish here on earth. For example, we continue our education now so that we’ll have more opportunities after we graduate. We work hard for a promotion that will come with a raise, and with that raise, we envision a new car, a new home. We save today so we can have financial security later in life. We exercise now so that we might be healthier as we grow older. The list goes on and on. While these are all great things to prepare for, they shouldn’t be our main – focus. Living for eternity in Heaven should be.
It’s understandable that we have dreams for this life on earth…we set goals…we work hard to achieve those someday dreams; just think what we could accomplish if we worked just as hard for the future of Heaven…which will be for eternity. Matter of fact, with eternity in Heaven being our primary focus, we would achieve a great more in this world!
C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
James 4:14 tell us, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” Compared to eternity, your life on earth is a vapor. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:19-21 not to store up our treasures on earth where there here today and gone tomorrow, but to store up our treasures in Heaven, that is forever. Having Heaven fixed in our mind points us to a reality that goes far beyond the years we may have on this earth. Realizing this truth, it would be unwise to obsess over such a small portion of our life on earth. To have God-given wisdom, we need to remain focused on what happens after this life on earth.
We are to treasure the Lord Jesus most of all. When Jesus is our treasure, our perspective will be… what can I do to further the Kingdom of God…how can I take territory for Him? We will commit our resources—our money, our time, and our talents—to His work in this world. Our motivation for what we do is important (1 Corinthians 10:31). Paul encourages servants that God has an eternal reward for those who are motivated to serve Christ: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23–24).
Really when you think of it, it’s strange how we’ll work hard for things we want in this world that are temporary and not work hard for the world we are going to spend eternity in. It really doesn’t make much sense when you think about it. Does it?
That’s the problem…isn’t it…most people don’t think much about life beyond this one?
Tammie Beyer
