Get the Right Perspective!

Recently I was driving in the car and heard the chorus to a new song say the following line, "There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face...". I couldn't help but smile when I was reminded instantaneously of the Truth of those words, and then I quickly was reminded how often my perspective is so wrong when it comes to eternity.

A few weeks ago I was talking with a high school student about the future and the soon to come return of Jesus. Although I could see the joy in her eyes, there seemed to be much hesitancy as well; the hesitancy was not stemming from a lack of confidence in the hope she had but rather because of what she had yet to "experience" in this life and the thought of "missing out". Isn't that the truth though? It seems as though the older one gets the more one longs for heaven but in those in-between years (high school-young adulthood) there is this almost tug of war within our hearts as to what we desire for the here and now and the soon coming future. Whether it be college for a high school student or marriage for someone in college or maybe even a career or the freedom of adulthood that somebody wants, there is something that is temporal that seems to choke our desire for eternity, that beckons us to hold onto this world while we pursue Christ.

The question I came upon during this conversation and what was echoed in my heart once again during that song was what is my perspective on Christ's imminent return? Am I as overjoyed and excited as Paul was, can I honestly say that each morning I wake up I am begging Maranatha!? Truth be told, that hadn't always been the case. The reality of what is to come had not been the ever present hope of my heart; it was instead something that I looked forward to only in times of despair and desperation rather than always. My perspective was skewed, and something had to change! I began to pray that God would radically change my perspective and as I did I began searching the Truth to find out where I had missed out. I realized three key things that I had set aside that I had to realize in order to fix my perspective.

1. REMEMBER MY SALVATION- If you are one of His you realize the weight of what that means. You realize the price that had to be paid so that you too could spend an eternity with Him. You have begun to understand, only touched the tip in fact, the gravity of it all. Isaiah 53:5 says,
"But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed."
Stop for a moment and think about that. Think about what it cost God for you to spend eternity with Him. Think about what you get for absolutely nothing. You did nothing to earn this precious gift and yet we are promised every blessing in the spiritual places. As I began thinking about this once again I was brought to the stark realization that I fail to remember my salvation and all that it entails.

2. TEMPORAL VERSES ETERNAL- Sometimes I think we think of ourselves as indestructible, or that we will live forever...well I mean live forever here on earth. Because the idea of death no longer frightens the Christian the thought of it never really crosses our mind, especially for us younger ones. Our desires quickly become temporal rather than eternal. We begin wanting things of this world (many of which are not necessarily bad things) without remembering that the Lord is coming back and He is coming soon. Think about for a moment if Jesus were to return tomorrow what you would have left in heaven. What would you take with you? Would you take that husband or girlfriend? Would you take that college degree? Would you take that new car you got for your birthday? What about all your friends at school? Well, no...the only thing you will take with you are saved souls. Matthew 6:20 says, "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." What are we focusing on storing up? What are we working on in this life? Are we working on being vessles of Truth to the lost? Are we working on being tools God uses to save the souls? Or are we more concerned with the here and now and will worry about all that when we get older? I was so convicted when I realized that often the things I pursue from day to day or that I even desire in the future are merely temporal and that my perspective had to change, I had to desire the eternal more than the temporal (I am not suggesting not desiring to be married, get an education etc....I am just suggesting that your focus and life's pursuit should never be consumed with that).

3. WHERE'S MY HOPE FOUND?- Our culture is full of people who want and need hope. For the Christian we fall into the category too...we long to be happy, content and satisfied in our daily lives. But what are we seeking to satisfy us? What do we hope in when everything around us is awry? What do we desire more than anything? Psalm 33:20 says, "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." Is that where our hope is found? Is our hope found in the Lord or is it found in some temporal thing like a relationship or a material object? We must hope in Him and Him alone because it is only Him who will never fail into eternity...all else will fade.

So as I thought about these three things: my salvation, focusing on the eternal and focusing on where my hope is found I got so excited about the Lord's return. I am more excited than every before! I realized I shouldn't care about fulfilling all the things I have not "experienced" because heaven, with our Lord, is better than anything in the entire world! Although I knew this truth and would say I believed it I realized that sometimes I didn't live it out by the actions I took or the desires I had in my own heart that I was pursuing.

Do you believe that being with Jesus, seeing Him face to face is better than anything else in this world? Do you really? How is that markedly reflected in the way you live your life? Are you pursuing meaningless things like Solomon spoke of? Are you hoping Jesus doesn't come back before you graduate high school...college...get married...have kids...get the job you have always wanted...move out on your own? Or are you pursuing the Lord and serving Him with your whole heart no matter what the cost? Are you pursuing a life that is devoted solely to Him and glorifies Him in all you do? Are you praying MARANATHA everyday? Are you hoping in some future event that you want to experience in your life? Or is your hope and joy found in the fact that Jesus is coming and coming soon and we are going to reign with Him? What is your perspective when it comes to the future? Lets get the right one! Let's focus on Him and Him alone and let everything else fade into the background. And remember what Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."