We are blessed to share this post from another sister in the Lord...
The Holy One calls to me this morning. Temporal life is about to change and with it the need to adapt is pressing down. Temporal life as we know it never ends well. As hard as we try to avoid it: from dust we came and to dust we will return. Gen 3:19
Physical death is the end of temporal life no matter how we live it. It has been that way since the very beginning with two exceptions that we are told about in the Word of God: Enoch and Elijah. These were the two exceptions and their lives are the model for those of us who believe in the rapture (sudden taking up) of the Body of Christ when the Lord returns for His own.
Not knowing the day or time of that epic event on our earth calendar, we will be wise to live out each day as if it could be today.. Both of these men lived in Old Testament times but since our God is a precedent setting and honoring Sovereign, we can be sure that their lives and translation out of this reality has significance to us today.
If nothing else the thought of a sudden evacuation out of planet earth should have an impact on how we live our temporal lives in light of eternity. For me this means to see the events here with eyes on the long range of Heavenly purpose.
Paul exhorts us over and over to get our temporal lives in a bag so we can focus on the much more of the Kingdom of Heaven and God's purpose in what He allows to transform us.
2 Corinth 4:16-17, "Therefore we do not lose heart though we are outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what his seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."
Make no mistake the Lord is preparing us for life post this earth. There is a way to live out our days here in light of eternity and I, for one, want to live that way. Since everything that makes up this realm materially will be turned into ash one day, the focus then must be on the only thing that will survive the burn and that is our relationships. We will not enter into eternity with things but we will enter in with people.
As a believer in Christ Jesus who is God and Savior, my relationship with Him is the top priority. Nurturing that relationship requires time and commitment. Then comes the relationship with others in my life and maintaining the bond that connects us heart-to-heart is made easier with the eternal mindset since time and geography can interrupt the dearest ones in earth.
Knowing we will be together for eternity makes the distance not seem so critical and for those I love who may not have grasped the truth about eternity, it makes the time we have together here vital for sharing the love of the Father with them.
Having lost my temporal husband of 31 years to the rigors of a wasting disease, I know the loss here. The eternal perspective of reunion is a sweet blessing and also a lesson for the struggles we had in our earthly relationship.
The Holy One speaks to the eternal, "Aren't you excited to know that the next time you see him , it will be without the cloud of sin?"
My thoughts cascade like a waterfall down into a sweet pool of God's truth. I now see that all of our relational problems did boil down to the sin nature that will not affect our eternal relationship. As believers the temporal pressures of life can play havoc with our relationships even as we embrace the same Lord. But with an eternal perspective things can look different here.
From an eternal perspective we can see how unfit we are in our flesh for our next and permanent destination point. We cannot begin to grasp what the Lord has waiting for His people, but I believe that what we are going through here has a impact on what we will be doing there. How we will rule and reign with Christ in His Kingdom of Heaven is being determined by how we submit to His rule within our hearts here on earth.
Living out each situation in light of eternity, knowing that our choices and decisions and the management of those things is going to impact our future should be a challenge to find the way that pleases the One we will spend eternity with. Seizing each opportunity and trusting the long range of God's Divine purpose makes for a very different lifestyle than just getting through each day.
If the temporal things we see and experience here on earth are all there is, discouragement can run high and our reactions stoop low. If the temporal life is all there is then throwing in the towel is a very viable options when the going gets tough. Temporal perspective makes no sense because it has no good end: all die and everything turns to dust.
However, in light of eternity all things make perfect sense: God has a Kingdom, it is called Heaven. God has opened up His Kingdom to all who would care to enter in. His Kingdom operates on principles of Holiness and Divine order and there is only one way in. Jesus is the doorway to the Kingdom of Heaven. One must believe in Him as the doorway or there can be no entrance. All of us enter in on the same footing and that is faith in the life, death and then resurrection of Christ.
There is no place or room in Heaven for rebellion as Heaven is a peaceful place in a Divine structure and order not like the chaos of this earth. Any who would come must leave their flesh baggage and all it's contention for self exaltation at the foot of the Cross. The Kingdom of Heaven is a paradise for those who, while unique and different in personality, are one in unity with each other and the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. The earth realm is where we must decide where we will spend eternity.
The Lord is calling out to each one of us to get ready here for what He has waiting for us there. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit in my life. Just when I get bogged down by the temporal He reminds me of the eternal. I see things as I should: In light of eternity. Now it all makes sense.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
Shared with permission, thespiritiscalling.blogspot.com
