A lot of people talk about end times: Armageddon, the rapture, and the catching away of the church. But not many people think past that. The truth is, you may know where you will spend eternity. But have you put much thought to how you will spend it?
When the Lord put it on my heart to write an entire book on this topic, I wasn’t sure how I would do it. I asked God, “How can I possibly write this book? I’ve preached maybe twenty minutes on the Judgement Seat in my entire life.”
Thankfully the Lord didn’t leave me to figure it out on my own. He led me to explore every verse in the Bible (from seven different translations) that had to do with eternity, judgements, losses, rewards, heaven, and hell. I meditated on these verses for one solid month before I wrote a single word for my book. What God revealed during that time astounded me. He showed me that the scriptures reveal exactly how we are going to be examined at the Judgement Seat of Christ.
When students have a test to study for, they go straight to the study guide. Teachers provide study guides because they want to position their students for success. Well the same is true of our Father. He wants to see us positioned for an eternity of joy so He gave us Scripture.
Think about eternity for a moment. Eternity is never ever ending. There is no completion. So wouldn’t you want to ensure a good eternal life? What most people don’t know is that we solidify our eternal responsibilities and positions in this life. What we do forever and ever is determined by how we respond to God and His Word right now. When we understand this, we can never live the same. We will see life through a different lens. Something changes when we stop living with a 70-80-year perspective and instead adopt an eternal perspective. We will endure things we never would have endured and start to make decisions differently. It is only when we think about eternity that we get context for the now.
Where is your focus set? Are you living for a bigger paycheck? For status and fame? For comfort and pleasure here and now? Or are your eyes fixed on the eternal? As C.S. Lewis once said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” Let’s make sure our lives count not just today, but forever.
