Keeping an Eternal Perspective

It’s hard to believe the year is winding down and this will be my last post of 2016. What?! As I get older, the days, weeks months and years seem to fly by and I wonder if I’m doing all that God has called me to do. Will I hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant at the end of my life?” Or has my life been filled with busy work rather than meaningful things which bring a message of eternity to those around me?

Instead of looking back at what I’ve accomplished this year or what I’ve let slide, I’m challenging myself to look forward to the new year and keeping an eternal perspective. So, what is an eternal perspective and what exactly does this mean to me?

Looking forward to heaven rather than shoving it to the side or back of my life is what’s most important. In everything I do, I want to ask myself, is this serving God in some way? Is what I’m doing pointing others to the path to heaven? I need to stop believing the lie that this life is all there is, that once we die, nothing else matters. I believe that when we die, our life truly begins.

I’m not saying we live our life without meaning, willy nilly. It’s the opposite in fact. I believe we need to move where God leads us and not be fearful in sharing the message of heaven. God created us to share His love and the message of eternity with those around us. Is what I’m doing truly doing that?

My answer is yes, for this blog. These words are my controlled environment. I can delete, rewrite and edit my message. But what about in my daily tasks? Am I pointing people to heaven when standing in the return lines from Christmas presents gone bad and my attitude is quickly going bad along with my presents? When the server at the restaurant where I’m spending time with my family gets my order completely wrong, am I providing an example of God’s love? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I’m not perfect and God doesn’t expect me to be either.

God expects me to have faith that He will put me in situations where I have the opportunity to point others toward Him. In those times when I fail, I have the opportunity to apologize and those around me may see God more clearly through my apology or I turn the situation over to God and allow Him to work out the situation.

It’s times like these where we are called to stand out from the rest of the world. In Romans 12:2 (ESV) it says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Notice it doesn’t say we are to be perfect, but the will of God is perfect and sometimes we show others eternity in our mistakes. It’s about keeping the eternal perspective in our imperfection.

How do you keep an eternal perspective? Share in the comments below to encourage others.