Living the Eternal Word in a Temporal World

You’ve probably noticed, but we live in a temporal world. Everything around us is temporary. We buy a new car, but before long it has scratches or a few dents. Soon the ‘new’ on the car has worn off and it’s looking old compared to vehicles just out of the showroom. It’s the same with houses. We find one that’s “move-in ready,” nothing needing to be fixed. But after a while it requires repairs – roof, plumbing, paint, flooring, lighting.  

The temporal state applies to living things too. We delight in beautiful flowers bursting with color, only to watch them fade and droop. We enjoy our pets, but sadly they have a limited lifespan. We’ve all mourned the loss of beloved friends and family members. And the clock is ticking on our own lives. Wrinkles and gray hair, aches and pains remind us of that. Nothing lasts.

 

That is, on earth. In the heavenly realm it’s a different deal entirely. There everything is eternal, something we struggle to grasp in our clock and calendar-centered world. Recently I was reading Psalm 136, which offers many descriptions about God – His goodness, wondrous works, wisdom – each followed by the phrase, “His love endures forever.” That’s a long time!

 

Deuteronomy 33:27 gives us the assurance, “The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.” And in 1 Timothy 1:17 the apostle Paul writes of giving honor and glory to “…the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God….” When we find ourselves struggling with things in our time-limited world, we need to shift our focus to the eternal.

 

We find the contrast between the temporal and the eternal in 1 Peter 1:24-25, in which the apostle observes, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

 

The late Ted DeMoss, who devoted much of his adult life to the mission of introducing folks to Jesus Christ, used to say, “The only things in this world that will last are the Word of God and people.” He would explain that if we truly believe this, it should figure prominently in our lives and help in determining where to place our priorities.

 

The question is, living in a tangible, temporal world when all we know for sure is what our five senses tell us, how are we to live in the light of eternity? It may not be as difficult as it may seem. Because as Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “[God] has set eternity in the human heart.” Deep down the Lord has given us the awareness that this life isn’t all there is.

 

I think of a fellow I used to interact with – an atheist – who boldly stated something to the effect that when we die, we go into the ground and that’s it, nothing more. But most of us – if we’re not shaking our fists at God in anger for some reason – hope and believe that this world is not a dead end, that there’s more to come, which serves to give meaning and purpose in this life.

 

What we struggle with is that we can’t know for sure what that is, although the Scriptures give us lots of clues. Even the rest of Ecclesiastes 3:11 says as much. Here’s the passage in its entirety: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

 

There’s the rub: We can’t comprehend what He’s done from start to finish. We read passages like these:

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

“Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens…. Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea” (Job 11:7-9).

“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!..” (Romans 1:33).

“…No one has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

 

We could cite many similar passages, but even though we can enjoy the wonderful things in this life, God didn’t create us for it alone. We can say with great assurance, based on what He has revealed in His Word, that the best is yet to come.

 

Within this context, then, we might ask the question wise individuals have asked: How then shall we live? Many books have been written seeking to provide a satisfactory answer, but I think we need not look any further than King Solomon’s closing words in Ecclesiastes: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

 

Yes, we have our lives here on earth – work, relationships, learning, hobbies, entertainment, and so on. But knowing this life isn’t the end, that it’s just the introduction to what God has for us in eternity, we should strive to worship our Creator; seek to glorify Him through our thoughts, words and actions; and serve Him and others in ways that reflect our Savior Jesus Christ who declared, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

 

Considering all He has done for us, providing the way for life eternal, how can we do any less?

The Simple Complexity of Christianity

Anyone who’s done a study of religions knows they can be very complicated. They each have their own sets of principles and practices, rules and rituals. Anyone who says “All religions are basically the same” has never really given them a serious look.

 

The Bible states, “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The plethora of religions supports that statement, as humankind is always seeking – and even inventing – ways to know God and determine what happens after this life comes to an end.

 

Despite their many differences, a central premise of most religions can be described as “Do this, do that; don’t do this, don’t do that.” And if the adherents follow instructions, maybe they’ll go to heaven or wherever else the specific religion states its followers will spend eternity. But that’s not certain.

 

Unlike other religions, however, Christianity doesn’t say we must do and not do certain things to gain God’s acceptance and be assured eternal life. Instead of “Do,” the most foundational principle of Christianity says “Done.” That is, Jesus Christ has already done everything necessary for us to experience a growing, eternal relationship with God.

 

In fact, Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Two-thousand years ago, when Jesus died on a lonely cross on a hideous hill called Golgotha, He became the atoning sacrifice for all humankind. The Bible uses the Greek term, “tetelestai,” to state that our sin debt is “paid in full” or as Jesus said in His final breath, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Amazingly, He even died for sins we wouldn’t commit until centuries later.

 

It's as simple as that. But at the same time, we’re confronted with what I’d call the simple complexity of Christianity. The Scriptures repeatedly teach that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor and be assured of eternal life. For instance:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

 

Salvation, as followers of Jesus understand, is by grace alone. We can do nothing to earn God’s favor and love. Grace – receiving what we don’t deserve, and mercy – not receiving what we do deserve, are freely given.

 

Where the complexity enters in, however, is that we must respond. That is, just as a Christmas or birthday gift is of no value unless it’s received, we too must receive the Lord’s gift of salvation, forgiveness and eternal life. John 1:12 expresses it this way: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right be become children of God.” 

 

Later in the gospel Jesus makes the famous declaration, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The gift is free to all who believe, but we must receive it.

 

Speaking to religious leader Nicodemus, who was trying to figure out exactly who Jesus was, He said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again…no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3-5).

 

The apostle Peter elaborated in one of his letters, explaining, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). Again, this is not of our doing – it’s the sovereign work of God alone.

 

You’ve probably heard of someone being referred to as a “born-again Christian,” as if there are other kinds of Christians. In reality, referring to someone as a born-again Christian is equivalent to referring to a pet as a feline cat or a canine dog. You can’t be one without being the other.

 

At its heart, a key distinctive of Christianity from all other faith traditions is that of spiritual transformation. As Galatians 2:20 asserts, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

When we receive Christ and accept the gift freely given to us by the Father, a life-changing transformation occurs. As a similar verse tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

So, for us, it’s simple: All we must “do” is believe and receive the gift the Lord offers. The complexity comes in with the wonderful work of God making us into new creations, freeing us from the bondage of sin and enabling us to d become the people He has always intended for us to be. The question we each must answer is, ‘Have I truly received by faith this gift God has offered?’

 

If we have, then when Jesus says, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23), to obey can become as easy as breathing.