"LIVING IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY"

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

Eternity is a long period of time! It's hard to grasp that eternity is never-ending. But let me give you a little illustration to help you understand. Imagine that we could empty the largest body of water in the world, the Pacific Ocean, and fill it up with sand as tall as the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. Now imagine that a bird flies by and takes one grain of sand off that sand pile once every 100 billion years. How long will it take for that sand pile to disappear? We can consider that amount of time to be equal to one second in eternity.

We weren't just created for sixty or eighty years of life on earth. We were created for eternity. Every baby born on earth is headed toward its dying day; that's just reality. But we were made for more than that. We are meant to experience eternity in the fullness of life with the Father. Death is simply the doorway we must pass through to transfer into the realm of the eternal.

Paul understood this and said: "We also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body" (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). Paul said that because he was a creature of eternity, he would live his earthly life for God. He would live in time in a way that pleased God. If you're living in time and for time, you're wasting time.

"CREATED FOR ETERNITY"

“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God created you for Himself, and He created you for eternity. You weren't created simply for time. God has placed eternity in our hearts, and there is something about us that wants to live forever. Second Corinthians 5:1-4 says: "If the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, . . . we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life." Our bodies are groaning and aching because we are looking for the eternal reality to take place.

If we have been made for eternity, yet we are limiting ourselves to thinking temporally, we are not fulfilling our potential. You see, 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us that we must all appear before Christ's judgment seat, and this conveys that eternity exists on the other side of death. We will be held accountable; we must answer to God. This kind of thinking affects the way we live because if God is the center of our existence and eternity is our goal, this will change our choices, decisions, values, and priorities.

But many Christians have been deceived. We believe in eternity, but we're committed to time. We don't understand that what we do now should be affected by what is to come.

God has given you a slice of time to prepare you for the reality of eternity.

"THE ONLY WORTHWHILE PURPOSE"

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10)

Have you been duped when it comes to purpose? The only purpose worth living for is God's purpose. Paul said: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). If you live with this goal in mind, God will change the way you live. You will stop just being alive and you will start to really live. You will live the abundant life through God's grace because you aren't just living for yourself anymore. You are not here for you, but for God.

You will have stability. You can get off the roller coaster of emotions that comes when you live according to your circumstances. Even when things are bad, you are good because God is good. When Jesus was asleep on the boat in the middle of the storm, His disciples asked, "How can He sleep at a time like this?" Jesus could sleep peacefully because He knew where He was going—He was going to the other side. One of the great blessings of living in purpose is that you can rest. You can rest because you know all things will be used for God's purpose, and you can rest because you know you are going toward God.

You will be provided for. God always supplies that which He has ordained. If you are outside of His purpose, you have to take care of yourself. But if you are walking in His purpose, He will meet all your needs.

Following God's purpose may not change your place in life, but it will change the way you live your life.

"THE BENEFITS OF PURPOSE"

“Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12)

When you are living out God's purpose for your life, your attitude towards time will change. You will find that you no longer waste time. We are only given so much time on earth; the average lifespan today is 75 years. We are all running out of time. But if you are operating in your purpose, you are utilizing your time rather than just going through the motions. Your purpose clarifies your use of time. Ephesians 5:16 says: "[Make] the most of time, because the days are evil." We are to redeem, or buy back, our time. We can't reverse the clock, but we can purchase time back. How do we do this? You can change the speed in which you are operating; you can pick up the pace to buy up the time you lost.

When you live out your purpose, you will live with passion. One of the ways you can recognize your purpose is that it will enflame you, ignite you, and stir up your heart.

God's purpose for you isn't some dull, empty thing that makes you dread getting up every morning. It is a fire within the soul.

When you are living out your purpose, you will live with direction. Paul said: "I box in such a way, as not beating the air" (1 Corinthians 9:26). In other words, he's not punching at nothing; his efforts are not just for show or out of obligation. Rather, he has direction, clarity, and focus that allow him to strike the target.

Are you ready to kick your purposeful living into second gear to make up for lost time?