For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
You have a lot of choices to make in this life. There are only two when it comes to eternity. With God or without Him. Heaven or hell. If you choose to live without Him on this earth you will live without Him in eternity. If you will not be bothered with Him here, then you will not be bothered by Him there. There are two kinds of people in this world… those who say to God “Thy will be done” and those to whom God says, “Thy will be done.”
Once you become aware that this life is not all there is you will live differently. As you come to the realization that life here is preparation for the life there, you will deal with everything differently. This is called living in the light of eternity. What was once considered unimportant becomes all important and what once seemed important now is unworthy of attention.
Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT)
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
Living in the light of eternity will cause your values to change. Relationships and character become of greatest importance.
How you face circumstances…
What goals we have…
What we do with time…
How we spend our money…
…will all be markedly different because of our understanding of eternity.
If this life on earth is all there is then you really have no reason to do anything to stop you from “living it up.” You would not have to worry with consequences. Selfish, self centered living would be completely acceptable.
But this life is not all there is. Death is not your termination but is a transition. There are eternal consequences to everything you do. What you do here will be faced there.
1. How does knowing that you will live forever change the way you approach life now?
2. How are you preparing for eternity?
