Getting Past the Start

The Old Testament tells the history of a chosen people that would love God for a little while but then turn their backs on Him whenever it was inconvenient. This scenario repeats itself over and over again as the people would grow in faith and the then falter in their obedience and dedication. They would try their best to follow the commands that God set before them, but then it became too difficult and more challenging than they wanted or were anticipating. God set challenges before them He knew there was absolutely no way they could overcome within their own strength. But God could. When they let go of their own pride and turned back to God, admitting their inadequacy, He welcomed them back without question and took care of the problem for them.

God’s will always prevails, despite our vain attempts to intercept it, disrupt it, or even improve it. Nothing we do will change it.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and He saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:1) One of the great mysteries of God is His omniscience. He already knows what will happen, when, and ultimately, why. God’s will is simply his dreams and desires for us. You see, more than anything else, God wants us to know Him and to be known by Him. But what does this look like?

We already discussed the challenge that lies in living in that tension between free will and God’s omniscience. But to actively live in God’s will we must have a unique lifestyle that sets us apart from others. It takes living a holy life. Holy simply means set apart and that is what we are called to be.

It looks like living for the eternal rather than the temporary. What is eternity? In scripture the word, eternal, is used to describe a period of time, an immeasurable period of time. Using the Hebrew Old Testament word, ‘olam, or the Greek New Testament world, aion or aionos, both literally refer to time or unlimited duration. Aristotle used aion to explain the principle that sums up all existence. (20) In the plainest terms, eternity is beyond time. It is what exists beyond our physical self and beyond our physical world into the metaphysical that science fiction uses as its platform for many incomprehensible story lines. Only, this is not science fiction. It is more real than you could ever imagine. It is immeasurable and infinite. It is God.

“It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken. “With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:13-18, emphasis mine)

As followers of Jesus we have confidence that we will spend eternity in heaven, basking in the glory and magnificence of God. That is the point. That is what this verse from 2 Corinthians is saying. We believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and has, likewise, taken our sinful lives and raised them out of sin. He redeems us so that we can in turn tell others about this redemption. It is hard. Paul phrases it that “outwardly we are wasting away.” Our bodies are temporary. Anyone who has ever sustained an injury or had to watch as a loved one suffered from a disease can attest to that. The trials and tribulations that we deal with each and every day are not for nothing. They serve the purpose of “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” And it is because of that amazing truth we focus on the eternal. That is why we look toward heaven with great hope and expectation. This is a challenge to change what has become the “natural” way of doing things. We hear people that say “carpe diem” or “seize the day.” “Live every day like it your last.” “Live like you were dying.” Or more recently, “YOLO” (you only live once). If that means telling as many people as possible about the love and grace of Jesus because you may not be here tomorrow, great! If it means throwing caution to the wind and living solely for your own selfish pleasures, you are missing the entire point of why you are living and breathing today.

At the beginning of time, at creation, humans were created as eternal beings. Death was not a part of God’s perfect creation. There was no pain; there was no death. Death is a direct result of sin’s infiltration on God’s masterpiece. We were created to be eternal, but with a broken world comes broken bodies. And with broken bodies comes a broken mind. We get selfish. We want what we want and not what God wants. We want instantaneous and temporary enjoyments. That is why people get drunk “to forget.” It is a temporary fix. That is why people give in to sexual temptation. It meets their temporary physical desires. That is why people hurt one another. It fixes their temporary need for vengeance, or justice, or redemption. The world looks to put a band-aid on an injury that requires massive surgery. God seeks to make us new.

With an eternal focus we are able to see God’s will and plan in and for our lives.