"But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.'"

- 1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

So How Do You Reach The Place Where You Can Enjoy The Best Things In Life Now and Forever?

1. Make God your ultimate source of joy. Yes, it is good to enjoy God’s blessings, but don’t let those things or relationships be the center of your life. Life without God is futile. It is like chasing the wind. See Ecclesiastes 1:14. No matter how happy or successful you are in this life, you are like grass – here one day and gone tomorrow. Walk with God through life daily to the end. Make God the chief source of your joy.
2. No joy and satisfaction can truly be relished without God – any Narcissistic accomplishment, greedy success, or Hedonistic pleasure. Why? Because one day, we will account ourselves to God. See Hebrews 4:13 –nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. Enjoying something now you will regret later is pointless.
3. What statement should be your motto, mission statement, and guide for 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] This phrase should be your first thought as you awake and the last thing you should reflect on as you sleep.
4. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [Colossians 3:2-3 ESV] We should not base our hopes, goals, and plans mainly on things that will not matter in the end. Life is a gateway and preparation to things that are eternal. Your priority should be: invest your time, energy, and resources on the things that will have an eternal impact.
5. Our fallen human nature makes focusing on God difficult for us, so we need to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” [Hebrews 12:1]. We are sinners on the way to heaven – that is why we always need to repent and draw near to Him.
6. We are social beings, so the best way we can truly enjoy the best things in life is to share Jesus and His promise of eternal life to others. No matter how good our relationships in this life can be, death will triumph on this side of life. True and lasting friendships can only be found with God in heaven, where we can enjoy friendship with God and all our families and friends forever.
7. Know this: the best things in life now is just a foretaste of what is to come – anticipate it! Revel in it!

1. One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. [Psalms 27:4 ESV]
2. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [John 10:10 ESV]
3. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. [Jeremiah 29:11 ESV]
4. Other references: Psalm 16:11; Matthew 6:19-21; Matthew 6:33; Philippians 3:20, and 1 Corinthians 10:31.

1. In what way can your life be more eternal-focussed so that you can enjoy the best things in life that will not fade away?
   
2. How can you reach out to your friends who do not know Christ?

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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