2012/11/16

Life is Not Short


Image from water.epa.gov
Our life in this world is just the beginning of our existence. It is like a grain of sand on the shores of eternity or a drop of water in the ocean of time. It is simply the first page of a very long story. When we are born, the story begins; when we die, the story continues in another realm.
Since eternity will last forever and our time here acts as the foundation of where we will go to spend it, we cannot afford to live recklessly. We must do some maths and get our priorities right so that our time and efforts on earth do not eventually boil down to nothing. There is nothing as sad as coming to the realization that you have wasted valuable time, energy and resources in something that has produced only wind.
When we are young, our parents do not let us just grow up aimlessly without thinking about our future. They take us to school and give us advice so that when we become adults we can live a prosperous and respectable life. When we get employed or start a business, if we are wise, we do not just squander the money haphazardly and leave nothing for the days ahead. We invest what we have so that when a rainy day comes, we will have something to keep us going.
In the same way, our time here on earth is a time to invest in our future. It is the time to use what we have for our eternal good. It is not the time to senselessly dive into all manner of crude, short-lived and unproductive activities that will eventually amount to nothing more than a chasing after the wind. It is the time to plough into everlasting soils that will give us an eternal harvest.
Jesus Christ told His disciples to “Store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). He was telling them to be wise with their time and resources on earth and use them to secure an eternal inheritance for themselves.
Just as there are bank accounts here on earth, so are there spiritual accounts. These accounts are not stocked with physical currency such as bank notes and coins. They are stocked with such characteristics as righteousness, holiness, goodness, humility, self-control, love, joy, peace, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, repentance, and so on (see Galatians 5:22-24 and Matthew 5:3-12 for more).
When all is said and done and our time on earth expires, it is the spiritual aspects of our being and of our actions that will matter. The amount of food we ate will not count. The shape and size of our bodies will not matter. The zeal with which we partied will not help us. What our friends thought of us will not be a concern. The titles that men bestowed upon us will be of no consequence. 

God will judge us based on whether or not we did what He expected of us, if at all we bothered to find out what it was. He will look at what our values, motives and interests were, and whether or not we honored Him in all that we did. He will not consult our friends, family or foes about us, but will bring out the deep secrets of our hearts and minds and reward us accordingly (see Jeremiah 17:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10).
Most importantly, He will look at the divine condition of our souls. Did we repent of our sins and accept the forgiveness that is only obtained through Jesus’ blood? (see Hebrews 9:22). Did we receive the Holy Spirit to make us God’s sons? (see Romans 8:14-17). Did we walk in holiness after receiving His forgiveness and mercy? (see Hebrews 10:26-31).
Jesus told His disciples that “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Image from hypedot.com
Our souls are the most precious aspect of our being. They are our real selves, the part of us that will remain when our bodies have perished. They will last forever, whether or not we make it to heaven or to hell. They will bear the full impact of our actions here on earth. If we neglect them, we are essentially neglecting ourselves. They should therefore be our first priority when it comes to the choices that we make and the things that we do. Focusing on other things at the expense of our souls is loving those other things more than ourselves and therefore hating ourselves.
We therefore need to be wise and see beyond the momentary passions and lures of this world, because spending one hundred and something years on earth will be of no value if we end up spending the rest of the billions of years of our existence languishing in eternal pain and torment (see Matthew 25:46 and Mark 9:43-44). 

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” – Matthew 13:40-43

5 comments:

  1. Good word. The greatest decision that we must make is where will we spend eternity. No matter how much we so-called live it up in this life, it will pale in comparison to eternity. Hence, the latter is the real deal.

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  2. Thank you for your post and your obedience to the Holy Spirit Nuru.

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  3. I must humbly disagree. The soul is not immortal. Ezekiel 18:20 "The soul that sins shall surely die."
    Eternal life is the exclusive reward of the righteous. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
    Immortality is an attribute of GOD who gave life in the first place and takes it away also. The wicked will perish forever, not live forever burning in hell. Please understand that immortality of the soul was the serpent's first lie to Eve: "You shall not surely die."

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    1. The Bible describes the death of the soul as its eternal suffering in the lake of fire:

      Matthew 25:41,46
      “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
      “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

      Mark 9:47-48
      “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where
      “‘their worm does not die,
      And the fire is not quenched.’

      Revelation 14:10-11
      “they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

      Revelation 20:14-15
      “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

      Revelation 21:8
      “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”

      Revelation 20:10
      “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

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