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CHALLENGES IN LIVING
TOGETHER AS COMMUNITY
.
Guided
by the Truth of The Imminent Two-Option
Eternity
.
by Tom
Caballes
"For
he knows our frame; he remembers
that we are dust. As for man,
his days are like grass; he
flourishes like a flower of the
field; for the wind passes over
it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more." -
Psalm 103:14-16 ESV
Father time has a 100% success rate – all who
lived on earth eventually passed away. The
question we all face is when we will die, not if.
Beyond the veil of the busy-ness of life -
assignments, job, bills to pay, etc. – that all
awaits us is eternity; either eternal life with
God or eternal separation from Him. There are no
other options. So, to a great degree, what we
accomplish or accumulate in this life isn’t that
important; we will have to give them all up. But
how we conduct our lives now will determine which
type of eternity we will have. Is the life we live
today directed towards the fact of upcoming
eternity? Are we preparing well for the
inevitable? Are our priorities, our values, and
our whole lives directed towards heaven?
So How Do You
Live Your Life with The
Forthcoming Two-Option Eternity
in Mind?
- Let
God be the center of your life. You
shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. [Matthew 22:37 ESV] Putting
God first means you surrender ALL that you
have – including what you do with your time
and money. It also means walking through the
narrow road. [See Matthew 7:13-14.] Let Him
be your best thought as you rise in the
morning and as you lay to sleep at night. Be
dead set in reaching heaven. Make God your
true security and your highest joy.
- Make
your life count towards eternity. You can
only do so much in a day, a week, a month,
or a year – or in a lifetime. It is better
to be faithful with some commitments rather
than try to do everything but live a
stressful and unfaithful life. Don’t do
things that you will regret later. Be
purposeful – make whatever you do count!
Avoid pursuing things that will keep your
focus from eternity. Be wise in the way you
use your time, talent, energy, and money.
Aim to please and glorify God in everything.
Do not procrastinate – do what you can do
today instead of tomorrow. Remember - you
only have one short life to live.
- Have
an eternal perspective as you face difficult
situations in life. Do not compromise
short-term delight or pleasure for the sake
of long-term [as in eternal] happiness.
For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed to us. [Romans
8:18 ESV]
- Aim
to grow in holiness as you put up with your
sinful nature. It is like you have a
stubborn and selfish child in you that needs
taming and disciplining. The reality is that
at times, you will fail in reaching God’s
standards. But the grace of God is there for
you to receive the gift of repentance.
- Know
well that it’s not only you who will face
the two-option eternity – but also all your
friends, family, neighbor, office mates, and
everyone else. Be eager to share the gospel
with them so that they can also make the
right choice in which eternity they will be
going to – with God or without Him.
Other Scripture passages:
- He
has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also, he has put eternity into man's
heart, yet so that he cannot find out what
God has done from the beginning to the
end. [Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV]
- O
LORD, make me know my end and what is the
measure of my days; let me know how
fleeting I am! [Psalms 39:4 ESV]
- Other
references: Psalm 39:1-7; Matthew
7:-13-14; and 1 Peter 1:3-9.
For
personal reflection or
group sharing
- Is
your life guided by the truth of imminent
two-option eternity? How?
- In
what ways are you distracted from focusing
your life for God?
- When
you make significant decisions in life or
face trials, do you have an eternal
perspective?
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Tom
Caballes is the
National Senior
Administrator and a
National Coordinator
of the Lamb
of God, a
community of the
Sword of the Spirit
with 7 branches
located throughout
New Zealand. Tom
also leads Kairos
New
Zealand, an
outreach program for
high school,
university, and
post-university aged
people.
Tom and
his wife Mhel and
their two
daughters live in
Wellington, New
Zealand.
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