Made for eternity

Made for eternity - big words.

Reality is: Our day-to-day lives are very present to us. All the stuff that our "here and now" is made of, is always before us: Our family, our job, school, hobbies, our health. We feel save and are happy if it's going well (when the bills get paid, we are successful, we get to enjoy life, we're healthy and fit), and we struggle if it's not going too well. Our efforts are concentrated on making it go well as far as we can, so the here and now is good as possible.

At the same time, reality is: Things that seem very big to us, very dramatic, significant, even essential, are sometimes smaller than they seem. To us, we are the centre of the universe in our lives, but how much time have we got on planet earth? What in our lives is going to last?

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4, 13-14

In our relationship and walk with God, things that can seem insignificant, pointless and futile at times, mean so much more than we often realise.

At times, when we pray, we wonder: "Where, after all this time, is the answer?"

When we worship, we sometimes ask: "Where is the glory? Is His presence really here?"

When we give love, time and time again, we might think at times: "Where is the appreciation? Does it even matter - the word of love I speak, the gesture of love I make, the heartfelt love I invest?"

To not lose our hope and set our priorities right, we need to always maintain a heavenly perspective. If we don't learn to live our lives out of a heavenly mindset and with an eternal perspective through the Holy Spirit, we'll continue to shovel precious gifts like our love, time and resources into a bottomless pit.

How do we keep a heavenly perspective, then?

This heavenly perspective is necessary on three levels: concerning our life on earth, and concerning our position and destination.

"For we live by faith, not by sight." 2. Cor. 5, 7

 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col. 3,2

If we know Jesus and have received the gift of eternal life through Him, planet earth is not only just a temporary place to be, but we have a parallel position we need to be aware of:

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2,6

In order to set our priorities right in the visible and invisible, in the present and for eternity, we need to remind ourselves what will remain when all is said and done:

  God - and people.

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17,3

Knowing God is eternal life. We can know God more every day, by talking to Him, listening to the voice of His Spirit that lives inside of us, by reading His word (Jesus is the living Word!) and by sharing every part of our lives with Him.

"...‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'" Luke 10, 27

The first commandment needs to come first in our lives, always. Everything else has to submit to this command - otherwise we're missing the point and purpose of life completely.

"....He has also set eternity in the human heart..." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Eternity is in our hearts right now, no matter how hard some people will try to deny this and insist that with death, nothing will be left of us and we will be non-existent. Every person chooses where he or she will spend eternity - in the presence of God, or away from Him, which is hell.

As born-again believers, our Spirits have come to life, eternity has begun, no matter if we feel it or not. Our life doesn't need to be a meaningless, empty blob, spiralling downwards, without purpose.

Touching God with our worship, words and our love is like touching eternity, as He is the one filling us with His eternal Spirit.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20

Whatever we invest into God now, and into loving others, is our eternal inheritance. And God - who is perfect love impersonated - will be our greatest reward. We are made for eternity - let's live accordingly.

Back to base camp

I'm on a journey. For me, living this life is more than an endless chain of getting up in the morning, eating, working, eating, going to bed at night, and the same the next day. It's not a stroll through the park, feeding the pigeons and going back home - walking in circles. Instead, for me, life is the journey up the mountain.

It's a constant way upwards. And the climb up the mountain is challenging. It's thrilling, exhausting, sometimes painful, yet exhilarating. The very fact that I'm moving upwards doesn't mean it feels good all the time. The higher I climb, the thinner the air gets. It takes the body time to adjust to every new stage of height, and that, apart from the effort of climbing, isn't very pleasurable.

But the higher I climb, the view gets better. It gets more amazing, and the higher I am up this mountain, the further I can see. Every success gives me a boost to move on. Every breath-taking view promises more beauty to see as I keep going.

But what do I do if the weather gets bad? Or if I'm getting too tired, too worn out? What happens if I have trouble breathing?

If I'm facing the rock in front of me for too long, that is all I see. Grey, hard stone. The higher I climb, the lesser flowers and plants I get to see. But I need to face the rock wall because if I'm not in a secure place yet, looking backwards in order to see how high up I've come can cause me too stumble and fall.

But what if I have lost my way? I mean - seriously lost it? I don't know where my position is, where I need to go and if I have enough strength or air to do the next step and climb any higher. My head is full of the theory of the mountain and climbing it, in my mind I've got it all figures out, but my body simply can't do any more. I'm lost. Completely exhausted and lost.

When that happens, there is one thing I must do: Go back to base camp.


That doesn't mean I'm giving up. And it doesn't mean I'm not going to reach the top of the mountain eventually. But if I don't go back now, I could seriously risk of never reaching it and dying on the way up!


So - back to base camp, now.


God - is - love.
God - loves - me.
Jesus - died - and - rose - for - me.
I - belong - to - God - through - Jesus.


That is where the journey began. If I rest in that place, long enough, and then start again, knowing that this remains true all the way up, I might just get a little further the next time.