Walk the Talk . . . with Eternity in Mind

Week 29, Friday

Dayna Street

He has also set eternity in their heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (nasb)

Life in the world is a finite existence. It will one day come to an end. Eternity is infinite. It will never end. As believers, we were created with a longing for the infinite and eternal. Regardless of how good life may be here on earth, nothing can take away that feeling that we are not home yet. This is eternity set in our hearts. C. S. Lewis described the lack of satisfaction the finite world gives:

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. . . . Probably earthly treasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it. . . . If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall never find till after death.[i]

My mother teaches the oldest adult ladies Bible study class in our church. These women, most widowed, have “served the Lord with gladness” (see Psalm 100:2) for decades. These precious saints are in their nineties and are in church every Sunday. They may not actively serve the way they once did, but in their golden years they have transitioned into mighty prayer warriors and encouragers in the body of Christ. One of the things that make these ladies special is their awareness that they are almost home. The song of heaven is echoing loudly in their ears and their desire to see their Savior face-to-face grows stronger each day. Like Abraham, they have lived as aliens on this earth, “looking for the city . . . whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10, nasb), and now that they are approaching their eternal destination, they are filled with anticipation. As you listen to them talk, you will hear the same six words over and over again, “The best is yet to come.” And they are right.

Where is your focus today? Are the worries of the world demanding your attention or have you set your desires on the eternal?

Lord, may the anticipation of eternity drown out the din of the world in my life today. Amen.

[i] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 136.