We are so caught up in the HERE and NOW we forget ETERNITY.

Where we left off yesterday…

' If we only hope for an eternal life with Christ as some sort of reward for our existing, then we are going to be in for a shocking surprise. 

We've made eternal life an abstract thought, a back burner idea, something to tuck away and think about from time to time while we live our current life.  We don't truly believe that we are STRANGERS and PILGRIMS here on earth living for a better place, a better home.  We believe THIS is our home and we set about living our lives accordingly.  If we TRULY believed we were strangers and pilgrims here, would we do so much to live for here and so very little for our eternal life?

If people live for eternal life- shouldn't they be active disciples for eternal life?'

*******

When was the last time you thought about your eternal life, before the paragraph above?

How often do you think about Jesus?

Can you ever think about Jesus without thinking about your eternal life? Yes, you can, but you shouldn't.

Jesus - a GOD in heaven with GOD, chose to give up that position in heaven to take on human flesh in order to do ONE thing… make eternal life with Him possible for us.

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The kingdom of heaven - Jesus.    Without Jesus the kingdom of heaven does NOT exist for us. The way to heaven was now at hand.  Every human being is given the opportunity to live eternally in heaven with our Savior. Remember this…

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

If you die before Christ returns- you will be RAISED up when He comes back.  If you are alive when Christ returns you will be caught up into the air with Him.  Heaven will be our home! That promise of heaven Jesus came to earth to give to us is a REAL promise.

Jesus lived and breathed the message of the kingdom of heaven, of eternal life.  You could NOT come in contact with the Savior when He was upon earth without hearing about His message- either from Him, or from those who came in contact with Him already.  The news of the gospel, the good news of salvation in Jesus was spreading like wildfire.  

Tell me, what good is salvation without eternal life?  Can there be salvation without eternal life?  The whole point of being saved from our sins is for us to become one with God again and live with Him.

We are PROMISED eternal life, an eternal home.

If you were promised five million dollars if you live to be seventy-five years old would you look forward to that seventy-fifth birthday?  Chances are it would be something you'd think about every day of your life.

When we are given eternal life, that most special of gifts, it should be something we think about all the time.  It is a FUTURE promise.  We are promised a FUTURE worth much more than five million dollars, yet we've regulated it to something benign, something nonplus, something commonplace, something we don't celebrate like we should at all.

Eternal life!

We are so caught up in the HERE and NOW we forget ETERNITY.