“He who provides for this life but takes no care for eternity is wise for a moment but a fool forever.”
Today I am beginning a new blog in which I will share a few quotes, thoughts and reflections on various issues in life and ministry. Each post will be fairly brief and to the point and primarily filled with quotes from Scripture and other great leaders and thinkers, past and present. I have always been a fan (and massive collector) of great quotes. My hope is that you will find inspiration, encouragement and challenge, just as I have, through many of these pithy statements.
I want to dedicate this week’s post to a longtime friend and brother in Christ who just passed away a few days ago at age 50 from cancer. Jay Herold was a soft-spoken, gracious man of integrity. For many years, his wife Nancy was Director of the Children’s Ministry at the church where I pastored. Please pray for Nancy and their two daughters, Christie and Lindsey.
Back in 1999, I preached a ten-part series of sermons on heaven entitled, “Eternity: Living Our Lives With Heaven Clearly In View.” Over the next few weeks, I’d like to share an array of brief quotes, thoughts and reflections from it with you. I pray your heart will be encouraged and uplifted to daily “live here in light of there (eternity).”
Here are a few thoughts…on Heaven
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.” (C. S. Lewis)
“We are to view the present in light of the future; we are to see time in light of eternity; we are to look beyond sacrifice to reward; we are to bear the cross in anticipation of the crown.” (Randy Alcorn)
“Let temporal things serve your use, but the eternal be the object of your desire.” (Thomas a Kempis)
“When we live our lives as if this world is all that we have, life is very disappointing and even despairing. When we live our lives as if this world is all there is, questions have few answers and crisis becomes all-consuming. This present world only makes sense when we live here in light of there!” (Joseph Stowell)
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
“And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” (1 Corinthians 15:19 NLT)
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim; in the light of his glory and grace.” – Lyrics to “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2 NLT)
Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that “God has set eternity in the hearts of men.” God has placed within our hearts as humans the awareness of eternity…the internal awareness that there is something beyond this life. We are to see and interpret all of life through the grid of eternity. We are to live here in light of there!
*All Scripture quotations are taken from The English Standard Version Bible (ESV) unless otherwise noted
Thanks. Jordan and I talked about living day to day in view of eternity just a few days ago as I drove him home from Flagstaff at the conclusion of his semester. I may pass this on to him.
Shawn – It’s hard to believe that Jordan is in College!! Great to hear that you can have those kind of conversations with him about having an eternal perspective on life! Blessings to you and your family, Paul
One of my favorite lines about living in light of eternity comes from the book “The Life that God Rewards.” Viewing eternity as a time line, Bruce Wilkinson says “What you do in the dot affects the line.”
Dhondi – I love that illustration from Wilkinson also! Blessings to you and your growing family, Paul