What does 'ETERNITY' generally mean today? We usually use it as a term of frustration while waiting for something to happen and that can be an apt description of how we may feel at the time, but we all know that ‘eternity’ in those circumstances isn’t for real. Just as well.
Having just spent a few weeks in Myanmar which is predominantly Buddhist, ‘eternity’ (a not very correct translation of Buddhist philosophy) is much more prominent in a Buddhist’s daily life. What a person does here, affects his/her status in the next life. However for a Christian, eternity should be just as prominent - even more so, for eternity is not just about me as it is for a Buddhist, but about sharing the Good News of the Gospel so that others can know about spending eternity with Jesus.
Andy Bathgate (Scripture Union ‘Encounter with God’ November 2014) sums this up so well in his commentary on 2 Timothy Chapter 4. “For Paul, the end is in sight – but that is not the sole preserve of the old or the dying. This is the motivation for every believer – the promised return of Christ, the establishment of his kingdom, the evaluation of our lives and the promise of crowning glory.” Some of my Facebook friends post encouraging Christian quotes and lately I have taken more notice to see if any relate to ‘eternity’ but alas, no. So much emphasis seems to be on surviving as a Christian in the here and now. We all need encouragement to persevere in a secular and sometimes hostile society, but we also need to keep things in perspective. As wonderful as this world can be, and conversely, as evil as this world can be, it is not our permanent home. Where we spend eternity will be permanent.
Let thoughts of 'ETERNITY' be our motivation in living a Christian life in the here and now.
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