I was listening to one of my favorite songs the other day, “Lose My Soul” by TobyMac, featuring Kirk Franklin and Mandisa. I was singing along with Mandisa and the phrase, “Livin’ in the light of eternity” stuck with me. I’ve always loved that turn of phrase. It holds such a huge concept in a single line: live for eternity.

Life Priority Check

Live in the light of eternity … eternity in their hearts (Ecc. 3:11.) These words remind us to live for more than the here and now. It’s easy to get caught up in our daily needs, burdens and concerns, but there is more ahead, friends. So much more.

You can watch the news and see our world spinning ever closer to the return of Christ, with catastrophe and chaos along the way. This is the perfect time to perform a “systems check” on our lives. What does the way we spend our time and money say about our priorities?

Are we living for the here and now? For our self alone? Or are we focusing on what really matters? To make sure we “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.” To remember to “love our neighbor as our self” and to show the world we are Christians by our love. Do we consciously give our families the best of us and show the fruit of the Spirit at home? Are we finding ways to make the lives of others better? Notice that these are all actions we take …

Eternal Actions: Outward & Inward

… Because living for eternity doesn’t mean sitting around and waiting for the Lord to come and take us to heaven. It isn’t only about deepening our spiritual life and our prayer life. That’s certainly part of it, but when we draw closer to the Lord in prayer, we will find He then compels us to show His love in very practical ways to those around us. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27.) There is no shortage of orphans and widows. There are so many homes with only one parent. So many kids find themselves alone. So many need support and not only financial. So many people need a friend, an afternoon out, a ride to church.

The second half of that verse, “to keep oneself form being polluted by the world” is a tall order these days as our society reaches a saturation point of sin. We have to take a sober look at how much is seeping into our hearts and minds through the music and media we absorb. We have to be careful to not “call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20) but to align our hearts and minds with the Word of God and what He says to be true.

A Life that Lasts

If we want to live a life that lasts, if we want our works to live on and to not be burned up as worthless at the judgment (I Cor. 3:12,13), then we need to be sure we are living for the right things and that we are doing the right things. Time is short. The Lord is coming soon.

“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8.)

I know I have some things to work on. What does your “Light of Eternity Systems Check” tell you?