Eternal Things

Does anyone else suffer from the "I watch, therefore I am" disease? I will watch a movie that includes fighting and automatically think that I would be a pretty good fighter if I tried/wanted, although I have never fought anyone in my life (other than some TKD action in Ecuador) nor have I been trained in it. It's also pretty bad when I watch D-I college or NBA basketball and think, "yeah- I can do that!" All it takes is a look at the mirror to realize that I'm 6', 160 with not a tremendous amount of natural athleticism and then a trip to the local gym to play some ball to put me back in my rightful place.

What I really want to write about, though, is a New Year's resolution of mine. It stems from 2 Peter 3:10-12 and Colossians 3:1-2. Here are the texts:

2 Peter 3:10-12- "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!"

Colossians 3:1-2: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

The thing that I was reminded of at the start of the new year is that one day this world will burn up. Dissolve. Poof. Boom. Gone. All of the awards won? Burn like wood, hay, and stubble. All of the time invested into things of this world? It will mean zilch. All of the cares of the world? Nada.

We have been blessed with a short amount of time (The Psalmist calls it "but a breath"- Psalm 39:5) to do work for the glory of God here on earth- so why mess around? It is SO EASY to get caught up in things of the world- cares, concerns, worries, stress-inducers. But one question that will be very helpful to ask is, "in eternity, will this matter?"

Recognize, please, that I'm not saying it is sinful to play video games or buy a new set of clothes three times a year. But how much time are you spending playing video games- especially in contrast to the time spent investing in others or time with the Lord- and for what purpose? And how much money are you spending on those new clothes- especially in contrast with how much you are giving to those who are in need?

Dad used to tell me (when I was nervous about a test grade), "a year from now, you'll never remember the grade you got on that test". That was true even a month later for me- keep it in mind when stress/worry/concern begins to creep up about things that really won't matter in the long (eternal) run.

CS Lewis wrote many books, one of which is entitled "The Weight of Glory". I read the text of a sermon he spoke concerning the topic and one of the main things that hit me was this: Lewis said, "You have never met a mere mortal... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendours." The people we interact with on a daily basis are going to spend eternity in one of two ways: as an immortal horror or an everlasting splendor.

This could lead us to view each other "solemnly", sucking the 'fun' out of life. But Lewis also speaks on this: "This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously-no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love..." So we can enjoy each other, but NOT at the cost of tearing each other down.

This has been especially convicting to me, for I do enjoy making people laugh but I need to be very careful that my joking has no "superiority" in it (very difficult to do, so sometimes it's better just not to joke). I need to ensure that what I say will be building up the Body of believers, not tearing them down.

What DOES God value? What WILL echo in eternity (to borrow words from Maximus Decimus Meridius)? Re-read what Jesus says to do in the Gospels to find out what will count in eternity (hint: Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 are good places to start).

So my challenge to myself and to you is to fix your eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2) and set your hearts and minds on things above, living with an eternal perspective on life- not wasting large amounts of time or money on things that will burn up, but investing our lives into Christ-exalting things. And treat each other as immortals- not worshiping each other, but respecting each other with NO 'flippancy, superiority or presumption', loving each other "earnestly from a pure heart" (1 Peter 1:22).

I'm clearly a work in progress, if you know anything about me. Let's journey this together and magnify the glory of God to the world.

For His glory...

Luke