ETERNITY

[Ranb2khz]

Eternity on the Mind

If you are like a vast majority of people – your mindful thoughts are focused on what is on the plate for the day. There is nothing wrong with that way of thinking, as we need to be thinking of our daily activities in order to get through the day. But we also need to be thinking of eternal matters of the heart, mind and soul. While thinking solely on the present – the temporal things in life – we are missing out on the eternal things that matter the most. One of Stephen Covey’s popular quotes goes like this:

“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

This quote can be applied to any goal in life, but for the purpose of this message lets apply it to eternal life. When we accept God’s free gift of salvation through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ in order to redeem us from our sinful nature, we inherit eternal life in heaven/paradise. Additionally, God sends His Spirit to reside within us and to begin the process of molding/shaping us into the image of His Son. Jesus was the only human being ever born without a carnal/sinful nature, and was the perfect gift from above to be the blood offering for the remission of sins – our sins – the sins of every human being ever born. Although we will never attain the sinless life like Jesus walked while on earth, we will gradually be transformed into His likeness. This type of lifestyle requires a mind-shift – a new way of thinking.

Who we are as a person is initially driven by our thoughts: our thoughts turn into actions, our actions turn into habits, our habits shape our personalities, our personalities turn into a lifestyle, and our lifestyle determines who we are as a person. Everyone is responsible for their own lifestyle, and the daily and eternal consequences of that lifestyle.

To live the life that God has designed for His children in Christ, we must begin each day with eternity on our minds. Granted that is probably not the very first thing on our minds upon awakening from sleep, but at the very least we should remember to give thanks to God the Father for another day to sing of His glory and strive to live the day according to His will – not our own will. And then make the time get into God’s Word, and to ask the Holy Spirit to give you eternal thoughts to go with you during the course of the day. Then use these thoughts to shape our actions throughout the day, which in turn will begin to transform our habits, personality, lifestyle, and ultimately who we are as a person – the person that God can use to bring about His goals for us, and those whom we influence (knowingly or unknowingly) – and it all began with a single thought.






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