This week I am preaching on eternity - an eternal Jesus actually - taken from Matthew 25:1-13.
Every time I think about eternity, the subject seems so vast. The best analogy I can think of is the ocean and it's vastness. Can anyone really describe the ocean? Can anyone really tell us how many gallons of water it contains? Of course not - it's so unfathomable. But that doesn't make it any less real!
That is what eternity is like for me. I know a bunch of the theological explanations about eternity and I accept them, but that still doesn't mean I understand the concept. Eternity is forever, totally void of our understanding of time and space. History, current events, future planning - none of that really makes sense when you really try to focus on eternity.
When I was a kid I remember wanting to know if my favorite foods would be in heaven - lots of pizza and cheeseburgers, but definitely no tuna casserole or lima beans. I remember thinking that a perpetual worship service sounded kind of boring. Who would really want to be in church forever? That is how I thought as a boy.
Now, as I sit here as a 32 year old man trying to contemplate eternity, I think I have at least a more mature perspective. However, the whole notion still seems too vast to fully grasp.
So here is what I believe:
1. Eternal life is real - and I'm living a taste of it now!
2. Depending on the life we choose, we will take one of two eternal paths - what the bible calls Heaven and Hell.
3. The offer has been made to every person to embrace the man Jesus as Son of God, Savior of sins, Lord of life. Doing that grants one entry into the eternal kind of life I am living now.
4. Somehow, in ways I don't fully understand, aspects of that eternal life - peace, joy, deliverance from sin, transformation into Christlikeness, hope, etc. - are already taking shape in me. Indeed, as the days and weeks go by I can see it taking shape more and more.
5. The eternal kind of life I hope for in Heaven is so much different and greater that it simply blows my mind to try and define it.
6. Sadly, the hellish alternative is just as impossible to fully grasp in all its terrible consequences . . . and I am thankful Jesus has kept me from that experience. And I pray that my life will be used by Him to keep others from that experience as well.
When you think of eternity, how do you come to terms with the enormity of it all?
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Cannot think of a more interesting, or more needed message. The scripture,words of Jesus,paints such a vivid picture. Some time ago, at the death of a young pop star ,I began thinking of people that I care so much for,who would say, themselves,that they are not ready for eternal life with God.When I read the blog today, I wanted to see what the dictionary had to say about the word eternity. Found "The state after death." That seemed sufficient, so decided to read Matthew 25:1-13, again with that in mind. There is something so final there. As I read the blog again, especially #6, in the last section,I felt such concern. The many opportunities we have to witness,and the chances we have to speak for Him ,have to say, I can do better. Eternity is such a long time,and we are the ones that God has planned to use to bring other ones to live in Heaven with Him.. How wonderful to have the Bible to remind us of the blessing of living with Him for all eternity. hsm
ReplyDeleteM.E.wrote,"Maybe it's because I'm old and in the last years of my life, but I just have faith and really don't think of eternity too much.I have the feeling God has work for me to do. It will be doing something that I really love doing. Forever is a hard word to understand. How long will you love your children? There is no end! You will love them forever. I can understand that.
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