Eternity is a Long Time.
What is the first thing most of us think when we hear the alarm clock go off in the morning?
“I wish I had more time to sleep.”
What is the thought most of us have when the weekend comes to a close and we look back on all the things we wish we could’ve accomplished?
“I wish I had more time to do stuff.”
I wish I had more time.
Time is the enemy – or let us say that in a better way – time has been elevated to our greatest enemy by us. We have created an enemy out of time because we have spent so much of it in pursuit of…… (you can fill-in the blank here).
Time has become a ruler of men. We have time clocks at work that create our paychecks. We have time limits for tests that determine our knowledge base. We have time outs in sports to give us a break from the hustle. Time rules us.
All of that makes the conversation on Eternity a trickier one that I believe it was meant to be. Jesus, in my opinion, never intended for his disciples to get fixated on eternity or Heaven. There were times it was mentioned as a location, a source of blessings, and as an illustration for the coming Kingdom. It was never really given much specificity in where, what, or how.
Jesus was consistently getting his disciples heads back into the here and now by focusing on service and love and compassion and generosity. When they started bickering and bargaining for better positions of rule and priority in this Kingdom He showed them just how much further they had to go in order to achieve greatness.
I strongly believe those lessons of time spent in love and compassion and generosity and service apply to the Church today. We cannot get so fixated on what is to come (Eternity) that we lose sight of what is happening right in front of us.
It is time to stretch our Love God, Share Jesus, Serve Humbly muscles. What happens here is shaping eternity. The hard work here will pay off – not in the sense of a greater reward – but in the volume of people going there with us. Invite someone to know Christ. Invite someone to walk alongside you in your own journey of love and compassion and generosity and service.
Ephesians 2: 8 – 10 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.