You only live once.
I know this is nothing new. But that also means you only have one life to have faith and follow Jesus. This is not carried into eternity, because there is already everything.
The eternity
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
Jude 1:20-1:21
We understand eternity as a life after our earthly death, a life that we will spend physically with God. In a paable way like never before.
So we can only work on our faith and prayer while we are here. When we go there, we won’t need it anymore, as it prepares us for a life of worship in Eternity.
It is here on earth that the Kingdom is prepared and has its members well aligned and adjusted.
Our life here must be based on the search for closeness to God. If we are going to be living with Him, this search will no longer be necessary in eternity. But it is our pursuit here that leads us to Him there.
Bring the kingdom
“What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming… But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.“
2 Peter 3:11-13
When we have the wrong idea about eternity, it makes us lazier because we have a long time ahead of us to worship Him and work out our faith. We will not lack time to pray since He has promised us eternity.
But once we’re there, there’s nothing else we can do. Our urgency for His return needs to be now, as we build a legacy and culture of worship.
All our works are to bring heaven to earth, that’s what the Lord called us to. So that more people know God and get closer to Him, while they live and while He can be found by us. When we get to heaven we will have everything, we can only please Him with faith here and now.
But our works do not change the Kingdom. They only prepare us for what is to come. It is the Kingdom and the yearning for it that completely change our actions and lives.
Here and now
“For this is what the high and exalted One says — He Who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 57:15
“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.“
Romans 2:7
Prayer, works, faith, intercession, evangelism… all this prepares us and prepares new generations for what is to come. But when the big day arrives, all that will no longer be necessary, because we will already be with the Father doing closely what we learned through all these earthly actions: Worshiping and praising His name.
That’s why we have to live today and now. Don’t leave for tomorrow all the good news you can share with people today. All the faith and trust you can put in God today. All the pains and fears you can pour out today at God’s feet.
This time here on earth is a time of healing, of transformation, of incessant search. Because when we are with Him, we already have everything we spend our lives looking for.
