First quiet evening at home in a while. Thought, or should I say thoughts, on my heart tonight: Eternity.
I was given this one line "Open my eyes to eternity" ... thought maybe it was the beginning of a song. But no. The Lord prompted it more as a plea on my heart. Even in the last hour, I've been thinking about different events, my spin on them, and what God's spin on them must be... seeing partially, but never with complete revelation. So many different circumstances in so many lives of family, friends, acquaintances, etc... and wondering how this jumble of events all fits together in God's glorious purpose... the good, the bad, the ugly. All of them are somehow working together for His glorification in the end, and eternity in view.
It all makes me feel so small, so amazed at how I can remain so selfish so much of the time. Realizing that all the things the Lord brings me through are not all just about me. It may not be about me at all. Of course the Lord uses every opportunity to shape us and mold us and conform us more to the likeness of the image of Christ. But it is all soo soo much bigger than that. The things he leads us into, the Way that he leads us... the people that we encounter, the friendships we make, the person we marry, the church we attend, the place we live, the job that He leads us into... I ask myself, what is their eternal weight? What is the meaning in light of eternity?
When I truly start to think on eternity, how humbled I instantly become. Who am I, that I have been invited to partake in this? To partake in the One who defines Eternal Life. So incredibly precious, and yet mind-blowing at the same time.
Am I living my life in light of Eternity?
...Or... Is it based on the rush of the world, the desires of the flesh, the hunger of knowledge, or the expectation of man?
There is this concept of eternity that we have in the back of our minds, one that probably seems more fantasy than anything else. And it's easier to live with it back there, where we can store it away for a good spiritual discussion or some "deep fellowship", or even bring it out to meditate on every Sunday when we have communion and sing "When we've been there ten thousand years...".
But what's really hard is letting eternity live at the very forefront of our minds, and letting the Lord etch it on our hearts. That, however, is exactly what God has called us to do. But how? I think it has all to do with learning to live in the Eternal Life that has already been given to us. Abiding in Christ, in His rest, in His joy, in His righteousness and holiness. Living through him and unto Him. Casting aside our own eyes, and seeing with His. Casting aside our own ideas, and letting Christ rules in our minds. Laying down our deepest desires, and letting Him have His way in us, knowing that we see in part, but He sees the whole picture.
There is so much more going on in this world and in our own lives, and in the Church that is beyond what we can see and understand. We can let it make us frustrated and upset because we don't have control, or we can choose to live in the peace of God, trusting Him, and knowing that there is eternity in the balance. Our all-knowing heavenly Father who loves us much more than we can even imagine is indeed sovereign over all of these things, from the smallest desire or struggle that we face, to the biggest events going on universally. He is SOVEREIGN & He loves us. This is the truth! May we live in light of this reality: He's not an amateur, He knows what He's doing. May we learn to enjoy the presence of the Lord, for it is all the sweeter when we don't know all the details of His plan. But may we learn to STAY in the presence of the Lord, discovering each day who He is, and learning to live for Him and for the eternal desires on His heart.
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." -Ecclesiastes 3:11
"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press own toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14
