Eternity and Pressing On

Do you realize that we will never die? I will live forever. You will live forever. Think about it for a minute. Yes, your earthly body will die; but you, you as who you are will live on forever.

For example, if I’m driving tomorrow and am killed instantly in an accident, my physical body will die, but I will just fall asleep. Me, who I am, will continue to live. It will just feel like I’m in a deep sleep. My next conscious thought will be in heaven. But that thought will be just as much my thought with me thinking them as my thoughts that I’m having right now. I’ll be just as much me as I am right now (just in a perfected and much better form of me.:)) The only difference is I will be in heaven, not here on earth.

I hope that made sense. My uncle and I were talking about this yesterday and he expressed the opinion that having this knowledge in your heart is one of the fundamentals of Christianity. The more I think about it, the more I agree. If we see with our hearts, not just with our heads, how temporary and short life is, and how eternal we are, then we will really begin to see things in their true light. It really puts things into perspective.

The other day we were reading as a family in Philippians 3:13-16, and I read it again today. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (“it” referring to the resurrection from the dead); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

Paul is saying that he does not just sit back and have the attitude that he’s all set, he’s a Christian and will be resurrected in the last days. No, his attitude is that he has not yet attained it. Not looking back at all, he presses on towards the prize of life eternal with Christ. And then he says that all who are perfect should have that attitude (I think he means by perfect those who are washed clean by the blood so that we appear perfect before God.) Next he says that if anyone does not have this attitude in every part of his life, God will reveal it to him. He then tells us to keep living in the same way that got us to where we are.

That, I think, is crucial to our walk with Christ. We cannot let ourselves get comfortable and content with where we are. We cannot have the attitude of, “Well, I’m saved, and I’m going to heaven if I try or not.” No, we should be constantly searching, seeking, testing ourselves to see if we are in the faith. If the Lord will cut off a natural branch, how much more a branch that has been grafted on?! The Lord cannot stand the lukewarm, the people who profess to follow Him but really put forth almost no effort. We must keep pressing on toward the crown, and not have a lukewarm attitude.

Now, having said all that, I don’t think we need to be in doubt for our whole entire lives as to whether we are saved. I believe that you will know in your heart if you are truly saved. The Lord will not hide the knowledge of that from you. But what I’m saying is that we should not grow lukewarm and apathetic towards our walk with Him, or content and comfortable with where we are. We must keep pressing on and never give up in our fight.

God bless you all!