May 19
In the Blink of An Eye
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ––1 John 5:11-12
The human condition is just that: conditional. For men of God who are called to have a different, eternal mindset, the troubles—or conditions—of this world are temporary. Think of a mile-long piece of rope with one tip dipped in a tiny dab of red paint. We are living the “red paint part” of our lives right now; the rest of our existence will be in heaven.
But make no mistake, eternity does not start when you die; it started the moment you were conceived. All of us are eternal beings, born with an eternal spirit destined to either live with God forever, or be separated from Him for eternity. This is one of the truths about God’s Kingdom that the devil will desperately try to make you forget. Instead of taking an eternal perspective regarding every situation and relationship in your life, he wants to inject you with anxiety about today, shame over yesterday, and worry over tomorrow. See the pattern?
Today is the only condition in our lives over which we maintain any semblance of control. Yesterday is set in stone, tomorrow is unknown, but today we are dealing with wet cement. There are actions you can take and words you can speak that can change today; change how others interact with you, and change the effect you have for God’s Kingdom. Start here:
- Ask God to give you an eternal perspective—to remember that your future is amazing (i.e., heaven), yesterday’s sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west, and today is in His hands;
- Surround yourself with godly brothers who share your eternal perspective, and carry one another’s burdens;
- Take the time to think about the blessings in your life, rather than the things that are going wrong. I try to tell God each morning in my “daily sit” what I am grateful for—specific, tangible things.
Yes, life IS hard and then we die. I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand or choose the route of denial. But the reality is that God’s Kingdom is real, present, and more powerful than your problems or mine. In the blink of an eye you will slip into that part of life where you have fewer years remaining than the years in your rearview mirror. Embrace God’s perspective—it is eternal, and it is wonderful.
Father, help me rise above the tide of my problems to see Your eternal horizon. I don’t want to waste the only thing I have on this earth: today.