Thinking eternally

One of the mile markers to spiritual maturity is my outlook on life.

Is my focus on the here and now, the temporary?

Or, is my focus on the there and then, the eternal?

Here's what I know:  This planet is not my home - as a follower of Christ - I am going to live eternally with God.

We are here on this earth on a short term visa.  It's really not that long.  Maybe it's 80 years plus for some people.  But for others it is 60 years or 40 years or less. 

It has nothing to do with how good looking or non-good looking I am, how rich or how poor I am, how smart or how intellectually challenged I am, but it has everything to do with the timing and will of God for my life.

The Bible says, "Each man's life is but a breath." (Psalms 39:5)

A breath.  Take a breath right now.  In the larger scheme of things, that's how long your life is.

Life on earth is a dot.  It begins and ends.  A very, very small point.

But from that point goes a line that goes out for all of eternity, never ending.  The Bible says we are going to be spending eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. 

Right now, I am living in the dot.  But in eternity, I will be living for the line.  In eternity, we're going to live with an eternal perspective.  That perspective can start today.  Right now.  This week.

Begin to live for the line - not the dot.

That is especially true when it comes to our money.  Don't just think three days ahead or three months ahead.  Think 30 years ahead.  40 years.  50 years.  But more than that, think 30,40,50 million years ahead. 

Ask yourself how your money is going to be paying off 50 million years from now in eternity.

One way to do that is to not only tithe (whereby more money is poured into ministry, and more ministry means more people coming to Christ) but to give to missions and to our building fund.

You might think, "how in the world can giving to paying off our church mortgage bring people to Christ?"

As we pay off our church mortgage, we can spend more money in ministry and more money in ministry means people drawing closer to the Lord.

Every time someone accepts Christ you can say, "I had a part in that."

Every time  you tithe or give to the building fund and see a life changed, you can say, "I had a part in that."

"Do you givin' while your livin' so you know where it's goin'"

You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. 

Just a thought for a Thursday.