-Eternity on Our Hearts
-By: Lawrence E. Ford, Sr.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4, NKJV)

Scripture makes it clear that since the Fall, our earthly lives are temporal. The sin committed by Adam and Eve set death in motion, both physically and spiritually. How that must have grieved the Creator! And yet, our Lord loved the first couple and their descendants so much that He provided a plan of redemption that would rescue His beloved creation from the ultimate consequences of that sin (John 3:16). Why?

Because eternity is on God’s heart. Is it on ours?
January brings with it a feeling of renewal, a sense of starting fresh with new plans, new commitments, and new opportunities. But how much of this newness is focused here on earth? If we are honest, we’d have to admit that most all of the “new” we are considering is deeply rooted in the here and now.

Paul’s admonition to the Colossians reminds us that real living is not in the here and now, but in the glory to come, when the temporal becomes eternal. He commands us to set our minds “on things above, not on things on the earth.” Why? Because that’s where Christ is, and that’s our promised destiny. Philippians 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven, not on this ball of dirt. So we need to think with eternity on our minds; we need to plan with eternity on our minds; we need to live right now—this year—with eternity on our minds. Doing so allows us a greater glimpse of the glory to come.
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As many of us pray, 'Even so, Come Lord Jesus', let us also remember to pray for those that are still lost and without the blessed 'hope' that we have in Jesus.
"In all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." AMEN~