7 good reasons to live thinking about eternity

Activate the news or browse social media, it is easy to be absorbed by what is happening in the world right now. We are involved in the most pressing issues of the day. Maybe we don't need the news for that; perhaps it is our individual lives that have completely pierced us on the here and now with all its competing needs. Our daily life makes us switch from one thing to another.

For Christ's followers, there is a vision that we need what goes beyond today's immediate concerns. That vision is eternity. It comes with hope and warning - and we must listen to both. Let's remove the objective of our current circumstances for a moment and look with a fixed gaze towards eternity.

Here are seven reasons why we need to keep that eternal perspective in view:

1. Our life in this world is temporary
"So let us fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is not seen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

We have been on this planet for so little time since eternity. We could live our lives believing that we have years to do whatever we want, but the reality is that none of us know how long we have left. Our life is fleeting, just as the psalmist could pray to ask the Lord to "teach us to number our days so that we can obtain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

We must consider the brevity of life, not knowing what will happen tomorrow, since our life is only "a fog that appears for a while and then vanishes" (James 4:14). For Christians, we are pilgrims who cross this world; it is not our home, nor our final destination. It helps us to maintain that perspective, having the confidence that our momentary problems will pass. It should also remind us not to attach ourselves to the things of this world.

2. People face life and death without hope
"Because I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to all those who believe: first to the Jew, then to the Gentiles" (Romans 1:16).

Death is inevitable for all of us, and many in our community and around the world live and die without knowing the good news of Jesus. Eternity should push us and guide us with an urgent desire to share the gospel. We know that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Romans 1:16).

Death is not the end of history for any of us since there will be an eternal result, both in the presence of God and out of his presence for eternity (2 Thessalonians 1: 9). Jesus made sure that all people came to His Kingdom through the cross on which he died for our sins. We must share this truth with others, because their eternal future depends on it.

3. Believers can live in the hope of heaven
"Because we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Corinthians 5: 1).

Believers have a sure hope that one day they will be with God in heaven. The death and resurrection of Jesus allowed sinful humanity to reconcile with a holy God. When someone declares with their mouth that Jesus is the Lord and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be saved (Romans 10: 9) and will have eternal life. We can live boldly, having full certainty of where we are going after death. We also have the promise that Jesus will return and we will be with him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

The gospel also provides hope in suffering with the eternal promises found in the scriptures. We know that we will suffer in this life and that the very call to follow Jesus is a call to deny ourselves and take our cross (Matthew 16:24). However, our suffering is never for nothing and there is a purpose in the pain that Jesus can use for our good and His glory. When suffering comes, we must remember that it is the Savior of the world who has suffered for all of us because of our sin, yet we are healed of his wounds (Isaiah 53: 5; 1 Peter 2:24).

Even if we are not physically healed in this life, we will be healed in the life to come where there is no more suffering or pain (Revelation 21: 4). We have hope both now and for eternity that Jesus will never leave us, nor will he abandon us as we go through struggles and sufferings here on earth.

4. The gospel must be proclaimed clearly and truthfully
“And pray for us too, so that God may open a door for our message, so that we can proclaim the mystery of Christ, for whom they are in chains. Pray that I can proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act towards strangers; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you can know how to answer everyone "(Colossians 4: 3-60).

If we fail to understand the gospel ourselves, it can have eternal consequences in that it shapes our vision of eternity. There are consequences for not proclaiming the gospel clearly to others or omitting fundamental truths because we fear what others will say. Having an eternal vision should keep the Gospel in the forefront of our mind and direct our conversations with others.

This is the greatest news for a destroyed world, desperately hungry for hope; we shouldn't keep it to ourselves. There is a need for urgency: do others know Jesus? How can we live our lives daily with fervor for the souls of those we meet? Our minds can be filled with the Word of God that shapes our understanding of who he is and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we try to faithfully proclaim it to others.

5. Jesus is eternal and spoke of the eternal
"Before the mountains were born or you formed the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity you are God" (Psalm 90: 2).

Our main goal is to glorify God who is worthy of all praise. It is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. God has always been and always will be. In Isaiah 46:11, he says “What I have said, which I will accomplish; what I planned, what I will do. "God realizes His plans and purposes for all things, for all times and has revealed it to us through His Word.

When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who had always been with the Father, entered our world as a human, he had a purpose. This has been planned since before the start of the world. He could see what his death and resurrection would accomplish. Jesus declared that he was "the way, the truth and the life" and that no one could come to the Father except through him (John 14: 6). He also said that "whoever hears my word and believes that whoever sent me has eternal life" (John 5:24).

We should take Jesus' words seriously as he often spoke of the eternal, including heaven and hell. We must remember the eternal reality that we will all meet and we will not be afraid to talk about these truths.

6. What we do in this life affects what happens in the next
"Because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that everyone can receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, be it good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Our world is disappearing with its desires, but those who do God's will will remain forever (1 John 2:17). The things this world holds like money, goods, power, status and security cannot be carried into eternity. However, we are told to keep the treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20). We do this when we faithfully and obediently follow Jesus. If He is our greatest treasure, our heart will be with Him, for where our treasure is, there will be our heart (Matthew 6:21).

We will all have to come face to face with God who will judge everyone at the appointed time. Psalm 45: 6-7 says: "a scepter of righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom" and "love righteousness and hate wickedness." This foreshadows what is written about Jesus in Hebrews 1: 8-9: “But concerning the Son he says: 'Your throne, O God, will last forever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You loved justice and hated evil; therefore God, your God, has placed you above your companions, anointing you with the oil of joy. "" Justice and justice are part of the character of God and are concerned with what is happening in our world. He hates evil and one day he will produce his justice. "Command all people around the world to repent" and "set a day when he will judge the world with justice" (Acts 17: 30-31).

The greatest commandments are to love God and love others, but how much time do we spend thinking about our individual lives and activities rather than obeying God and serving others? How long do we think about eternal things compared to the things of this world? Are we keeping eternal treasures for ourselves in the kingdom of God or are we ignoring it? If Jesus is rejected in this life, the next life will be an eternity without him and this is an irreversible consequence.

7. An eternal vision gives us the perspective we need to finish life well and remember that Jesus will return
“Not that I have already achieved all this or that it has already reached my goal, but I insist on grasping what Christ Jesus took me for. Brothers and sisters, I still don't consider myself taking it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and striving for what is ahead, I press towards the goal of winning the prize for which God called me to heaven in Christ Jesus "(Philippians 3: 12-14).

We must continue to run the race in our faith every day and the motivation we need to succeed is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Our eternal life and salvation were purchased at a price; the precious blood of Jesus. Whatever happens in this life, good or bad, we must never lose sight of the cross of Christ and how it has opened the way for us to come before our holy Father forever.

We must grasp this truth with confidence knowing that one day Jesus will return. There will be a new paradise and a new earth where we will enjoy being forever in the presence of the eternal God. Only He is worthy of our praise and loves us immeasurably more than we can imagine. He will never leave our side and we can trust him as we continue to put one foot in front of the other every day, in obedience to the one who calls us (John 10: 3).