Heaven in view. Part 2

Take Jesus Christ as our example. He came to earth and lived His entire life with eternity in view. His sole purpose for coming to this world was to insure that we would have a happy hereafter. He did not have time to build nest-eggs and buy big estates and sit around smelling the roses. He lived here for thirty-three and one-half years, and I don't believe He wasted a single day. Even at twelve years old He told His parents, "Don't you think it's about time I was about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49).

He regarded one soul as so valuable that He gave up heaven and came to earth to save that one soul. He knew that going to hell is so indescribably awful and terrible that He gave up His life and died just to keep that one soul from going to hell. Can you imagine how horrible the place must be, that the Son of God Himself would suffer such an agonizing death on the cross just to enable one soul to avoid such a place?
This tells us something, Christians: We ought to be doing everything within our power to save souls from hell. How can we be so indifferent? How can we keep doing business as usual? When will we wake up and realize that there really is no business but God's business? All other so-called important business becomes utterly and absolutely insignificant when compared with eternity. Who cares whether the stock market goes up or down? Who cares whether or not we ever balance the federal budget? Perhaps you have the best job and the biggest house and the fastest car. Or perhaps you have the worst job and the smallest house and the slowest rattle-trap in town. But when it's all said and done, and eternity has swallowed up this time-world, what does it matter? What is life all about anyway? What are we supposed to be doing while here?

If we would truly live life with eternity in view, it would have three very important effects upon our lives. In fact, it would revolutionize our lives, and the lives of all those around us.
First of all, it would cause us finally to get our priorities straight. We Christians are all twisted and warped in our ideas of why we are in this world and what God expects us to do. The biggest trick Satan has is to deceive people into thinking that trash and trivialities are important while the truly important things are trivial. We would begin to spend our lives working onlyfor those things that have eternal significance. Transient stuff would cease to occupy and waste our time. We would evaluate and judge everything in life by its value to the cause and kingdom of Christ. Does He need this? Will it help advance His interests? Does it help my own soul and the souls of others?

These are the questions asked by the great missionary, David Livingstone, who brought the gospel to the heart of Africa. He said: "I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by the giving or keeping of it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity." Do you hear what this man is saying? He evaluated everything in his life by its usefulness to God. If it was helpful to Christ, he kept it. If it was an unnecessary hindrance, he got rid of it.

The second effect viewing eternity should have on us is to harden us against the trials and temptations of life. We spend far too much time worrying about, fussing over, and struggling for things that will mean absolutely nothing in eternity.













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