Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Stay Focused On The End

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." -- Hebrews 11:13

We want it now. It doesn't matter if it's a glazed donut, a new car or that "just right" pair of shoes. Need is irrelevant. Want is what matters to us and we don't want to wait.

As Christians, it's easy to think we should be especially blessed -- by material things, by good health, by an abundance of whatever our heart desires. But christianity doesn't work that way. It's not about us. It's about serving God. It's about His plan. Our reward is eternal life with Him.

But, you ask, what about now? I can hear all the whining. We are a people of "want-it-now" mentality. I don't know why we think we deserve it. Check out the Bible. Sarah was 90 when she had her first child. Talk about waiting! Or look at Joseph. Before he died, he gave instructions for his bones to be carried from Egypt back to Israel. And they did -- more than 400 years later. Moses led the exodus, received the Ten Commandments and saw the promised land -- from a distance. Remember Moses sinned and died without ever setting foot on the land at the end of that long, long journey. You see, we are not talking instant gratification here.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. They were all rewarded for their belief in God and for their service and praise of Him -- after they died and awoke in heaven. They understood that this walk on earth is only temporary and that our true reward comes later when we finally reach our true home.

It's not that God doesn't bless us on this earth. Of course, he does. He is with us every step of our journey. We feel His presence. We feel His strength when He carries us through rough times. We feel His blessing when we succeed beyond what we could ever have expected.

But we are here to serve Him. I know. I keep bringing that up. Don't get me wrong. No one can earn his/her way into heaven. Our ticket to heaven is our belief in Jesus as God's son and our knowledge that He came to this earth, led a perfect life and died a cruel death on the cross as He took our sins upon Him. How much more we should worship Him for all He has done for us.

It truly isn't about us. It's not about that new pair of shoes or job promotion we crave. This is all temporary and when we die, none of it will matter. He is what matters. Our lives are all about Him -- how we can serve Him and those He loves. It's about one day closing our eyes and waking up in a splendor beyond anything we could ever imagine. We should live our lives not concerned about what we want today but rather focused on our journey toward our eternal home. Everything along the way is just temporary.