A Mind for Eternity

       How often do we live for ourselves! What will God do for me? How is this good for me? Will this bring me closer to what I want? How will this circumstance or person serve me, improve my life, give me answers, or provide me with keys to my life? Those can be good guidelines through life’s decisions, but they should not consume them. Lost in this thinking, when life throws us challenges or pain, we stumble around, broken-hearted, alone, and with calls to the heavens about unfairness.

        Life IS an adventure –there is no doubt. But what kind of adventure do we want? What kind of adventure do I want? I can accomplish everything I dream, receive the highest praises, and pursue the best relationships, but what is their worth if God and His vision are not reflected through them to me and those around me? “This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up” (Hosea 8: 6-7). There is absolutely no worth if only done for self. This kind of adventure is pointless and does not satisfy. It leaves the soul empty, lost, and alone, built only on sand castles. “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)

        Rather than focusing on what is seen, on the immediate, and on ourselves, our minds should be driven beyond this world with its common dreams and push our thoughts towards eternity. Our answers and responses to the successes, obstacles, and failures of this life should be quests for God’s growth in us through them all and for His ultimate glorification. Disciples faced with the difficult question of the existence of the hurt of the disabled received this answer from Jesus: “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Is this our response when things don’t go our way –or when they do? God’s message throughout His Word is almost simple: it’s ALL for His glory.

        So how do we live the right kind of adventure? The journey God yearns each of us to have is one of single heartedness, a life centered on His Word, on His eternal plan, and on His glory. His fellowship is the only one needed for completion and satisfaction: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). Clothed with humility, we can approach Him knowing that He is our Father who owns the cattle of a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10); we can trust that where He leads is right where we are supposed to be, even if it means a fiery furnace (Daniel 3) or before the audience of a king (Esther 4). The Gospel is all we really have (Galatians 6:14) that will last through anything this life brings. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).

“Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone 
And live so all might see 
The strength to follow Your commands 
Could never come from me 
O Father, use my ransomed life 
In any way You choose 
And let my song forever be 
My only boast is You 

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ 
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life” –from Sovereign Grace “All I Have Is Christ”