I think it is safe to say that everyone invests his time, talent, and money for both short term and long term gains in one form or another. For example, we save our money now in order finance a vacation later. And we work and save in order to have enough money for a down payment on a house. We, therefore, are willing to forego the current enjoyment of what our money can buy us now, for a future benefit.
While looking at my friend, Patrick Cox’s Facebook page, one of his posts really caught my attention. It read: “We often hear, ‘Life is Short…better enjoy it.’ How about, ‘Eternity is long, better prepare for it!’” As I read and re-read this post a few thoughts came to my mind.
First, life on earth is indeed short when measured against eternity. 70 to 90 years when measure against eternity are just a statistical blip in time. If all we have is this life to live, then life can be exceedingly unfair if you are dealt a bad hand by the evolutionary gods. Think of the millions of people who are blind, deaf, in wheelchairs, and in constant pain – what a horrible existence if this is the only life we have to live. For these people life is indeed, not only short, but very hard to find deep enjoyment when you have been dealt such a bad hand in life.
Second, if you don’t believe in an afterlife, then the idea of eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die, is sadly a recipe for a very shallow existence since it is based on trying to find self-satisfaction. Why sacrifice to help others when doing this will steal from you own enjoyment of life.
Third, if there is an eternity to life after physical death, then it behooves all of us to spend a good amount of time now finding out what happens to us when we die. Fortunately, for all of us, we have a special book called the Bible that speaks in great detail about the afterlife. There are many religions that talk about the afterlife but only the Bible has been demonstrated to be accurate in everything it says, whether historically, scientifically, and prophetically. It’s the one and only book that gives us the answers to all of life’s big questions. A thinking person owes it to themselves to at least examine the claims of the Bible since eternity is at stake.
Fourth, (Mark 8:36) tells us: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” This one verse puts all of us on notice that we have a soul that will live forever. It also tells us that our soul is more valuable than all the riches this world has to offer. This verse also implies that the decisions we make in this life will determine the state of our soul for all of eternity.
And fifth, as Christians, it is so important that we share the soul saving message of the Bible with as many as we can since an eternity separated from God awaits all those who choose to enjoy life today instead of living for Christ now. We need to share with unbelievers that what they do with Christ now is the only decision they will ever make that has eternal consequences.
As Christians we need to let everyone know by our walk and talk that when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we made the greatest investment of our time, talent, and treasury. Yes, we may have to forego many creature comforts to serve Christ now, but the eternal rewards are simply out of this world. And don’t think that all we receive by serving Christ are future blessings because worshipping Christ now and serving others brings with it a special joy that the world can’t give us nor can it take away.
I can think of nothing as wonderful as spending time in the presence of Jesus, reading and meditating on the Bible, Christian fellowship, and knowing with certainty that when I die, I will just be passing to another phase of my eternal existence – spending eternity with Jesus!