Nothing we do in this life, nothing we accomplish, nothing we accumulate, nothing we find success in, no amount of money earned and no accolades received, none of this makes any difference if we don’t take eternity into account in all that we do. 

I am an avid reader of biographies. The stories of amazing men and women who have changed the course of world history. People who did amazing things and sometimes horrible things. In many cases, these individuals have dozens and dozens of volumes written about their lives. But, in most cases there is no record of these individuals in heaven. No matter what they pulled off in this life, there is no life with God in the next. They did not live in light of eternity. CS Lewis writes this. “‘If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.’

Here is a truth to consider. We vastly overestimate the value of our human existence and vastly underestimate the value of our coming eternal existence. The only way to get the equation right and the only way to ensure that what we do on this side of eternity is right is to live our lives with our eyes on eternity. Again as CS Lewis wrote,  “Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

In Hebrews 11 we have this pantheon of heroes of the faith. But there is one section that is really important to understand. It is found in verses 13-16. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. They did what they did and followed God where He led with their eyes on eternity. 

This was Jesus as well who “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  He went to the cross with His eyes on heaven and his divine mission to save a people (Hebrews 12:2). His motivation to do what He did was an eternal heavenly perspective.  Likewise Paul wrote, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Paul endured amazing hardships for the sake of pleasing His Savior and knowing that it would all be worth it when He met Jesus face to face. 

Living with our eyes on eternity changes the picture on everything we do. It makes decisions on priorities, relationships, service, money, raising our kids or living out our marriages in light of an eternal perspective. Some might say, “We need to live in the here and now, not in the future.” They are correct. But to be fully alive in the here and now we must take into account the future because we were not ultimately made for this earth but for heaven. Furthermore, we enter into the Kingdom of God when we accept Christ into our lives. That is when true life begins as we were made for Him in the first place.

We can live carelessly and accidentally, fumbling our way through life, feeding our desires, egos and personal addictions. Or we can invest our lives in things that God is pleased with, knowing that we have this life to invest for Him and that our days and opportunities are numbered. 

The parable of the Bags of Gold in Matthew 25 is all about living life with our eyes on eternity. It is about a master who went on a long journey and entrusted his wealth to his servants. After a long time he came home and found that the man who had been entrusted with five bags of gold brought five more bags because of his investments. The one who had been entrusted with two bags of gold brought the master two additional bags as he also had invested what he had been given. Finally the man who had been entrusted with one bag simply hid his bag in the ground and did nothing with it.

To the first two servants, the master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” The point of the parable is that God has entrusted each of us with different gifts and opportunities to invest on His behalf. When we invest wisely, like these two servants, we are living with our eyes on eternity just as they were living with their eyes on their master’s eventual return.

The servant who had not made any investment was not kindly treated by the master. He had chosen to live life on his terms and didn’t have his eyes on eternity but on himself. In fact, he was not welcomed into the eternal kingdom.

I live for the day that I see Jesus face to face, look into His eyes and see the depths of grace and compassion and mercy that He has. And to hear Him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come share your master’s faithfulness.”

Father, help me to live my day today in light of eternity. Help me understand that how I invest my time, energies and relationships has an eternal impact. Amen.

The Question for Today: How can I best orient my life around an eternal perspective?