How Long is Eternity?

Although, we live in a very temporal world.  Everything is measured by time.  We count the hours, days, weeks and years as though they were finite for us.   This kind of thinking has made it hard for us to let go of our youth.  We are snipping, lifting, stretching, packing and shrinking our bodies as though it is the only one we will ever have.  We make decisions based on the latest trends, fashions and news.  We hold on to this life on earth like death has finality for us.  Yet the Lord wants us to think eternally.

²⁴because  “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.   The grass withers,   And its flower falls away, ²⁵  But the word of the Lord endures forever.”  Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.  1 Peter 1:24-25(NKJV)

In light of eternity, our lives on earth are quick.  1 Peter equates our lives to that of grass and flowers.  Flowers bloom beautiful, but the span can be very brief.   Most bloom annually, but some skip a year or two in between.  There is even a palm tree that blooms every 100 years (how they proved that is a mystery to me).  If we felt like a plant would only bloom once in our lifetime, we would probably dig them up and replant new ones each year.  Our thinking would be limited by lifespan of the bloom. 

That's the way it is spiritually.  When we think this life is all there is, we try to maximize our bloom for everyone on earth to see.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11(NKJV)

We must think eternally.  This life may fade fast, but what we do in it has the potential of lasting throughout all eternity.  Let's move from doing everything to impact the temporal aspects of the lives around us to reaching for the eternal impact.  Abraham's obedience, David's passion and Paul's zealous pursuit of God and His people are still changing the lives of  believers thousands of years later.  What are you doing that people will feel the effects of or will be still discussing in a thousand years (should the Lord tarry)?  Let's move purposefully, strategically and eternally.