The Promise of Eternity

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

Today's Passage> 1 Peter 1: 3-25
Memory Verse> 1 Peter 1: 4 & 5

I often think about the hard lives many have had from one century to another.  What kept the Pilgrim settlers hoping against hope when they took that giant step across the Atlantic Ocean to start their new life?  When they had to bury their loved ones taken by the harsh winter and disease, what gave them comfort?  No doubt words of a hymn like "How Great Thou Art": "When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation to take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!  Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!" 

A few hundred years afterwards, during the capture, murder and enslavement of African people, what did they have to look forward to?  When their babies were snatched from them, and their families were separated as they were bought, sold off, and sent to various parts of the country, what gave them comfort?  The promise that there was a place much better than this one where no such horrors would take place.  They sang the words of the song, "Swing low, sweet chariot, comin' for to carry me home" along with others that warmed their hearts on dark, cold nights and lit their path when all hope seemed lost.

No matter the time or season, the promise of eternity is the one beacon that shines brighter than any other element of our faith.  It strengthened our Lord Himself when He was stretched out on the cross, and it sustained him to focus on what He was purchasing for us.  Today's passage gives me the feeling that if this was important then, it's important now.  Many believers spend countless hours feeling worried, sad, hopeless, or aggravated about the circumstances in which they find themselves.  But hope is what makes the difference, and for good reason.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: eternity is the only thing the enemy has no influence over.  So rather than try, he simply works on getting us to fear the unknown so much that we lessen the impact of eternity on our NOW.  If we can trust God with our future, why wouldn't He take care of our present?  We must begin allowing the things God has put in place for us to stand firm in our hearts, even when we can't feel or see it.  Hope in our eternity is the best thing we've got to latch on to.  In the midst of the hardest situations, it's amazing how a simple song can transport us to another place.  I don't know what your "eternity" song might be.  For me, it's "Lord, You're my dwelling place; I long to shout Your praise, singing hallelujah.  I know that there will come a day when I will see You face to face, and I will be embraced by the beauty of holiness....."

Prayer: Father, thank You for the promise of eternity.  I'm longing for the day when I get to see You, hear You say, "Well done", and sit at the welcome feast with Your Son Jesus.  All of the issues of this life fade into insignificance when my heart settles on this fact.  Be glorified in all I say and do, and may those who do not know You accept this same promise.  In Jesus' Name, amen.