Eternity | You were made to live forever

Sometimes we get so focused on the here and now that we lose sight of the big picture. There is so much more to your life than just your temporary existence on earth. 

LIFE ON EARTH IS SHORT AND FRAGILE. ETERNITY IS FOREVER.

Psalm 39 shows us how short life on earth really is …

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is.” (Psalm 39:4)

Your days on earth are numbered.

“You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” (Psalm 39:5)

Your entire life on earth, is so short compared to eternity. We appear briefly and then vanish. 

But life continues into eternity. There is so much more to life than just a few temporary troubled years on earth. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God “has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

PERSPECTIVE 

For a moment consider what your entire life on earth looks like compared to your eternity …

If you look at the night sky on a clear evening, one single star in the universe would represent your entire life on earth, compared to the universe and galaxy representing your eternity.

If you could gather all the water on our planet, consisting of the oceans, dams, rivers and lakes, your entire life on earth could be viewed as one drop of water, compared to all the waters of the world representing your eternity.

If you looked at the Bible, consisting of 1000’s of pages, your life on earth would be represented by one full stop, compared to all the words in the entire Bible, which represent your eternity.

If you took all the sand in the deserts and beaches around the world, your life on earth would be one single grain of sand, compared to all the sand in the deserts and on the seashores around the world.

I hope you are getting the picture. There is so much more to life than just your short life on earth. Life on earth is short, but eternity goes on forever. 

Eternity is without beginning or end. Eternity has no limits. It is infinite.

LIFE ON EARTH IS TEMPORARY. ETERNITY IS PERMANENT.

Sometimes we get so stuck in the world here and now. We get side-tracked. We worry so much about what may or may not transpire. We work tirelessly to make extra money to fund our empty lives.

We stress out, trying to make it through the current crisis. We get all worked up about current social and political issues. We get so caught up in our issues and fears.

We often forget all about God. He is the creator. He is the inventor of life. He holds it all together. He holds the key to life.

Jesus said, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

What do you gain if you invest everything only in this current temporary world without paying any attention to life in eternity? 

You cannot take anything with you.

Jesus also said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-22)

If there was no more to life than just the here and now, we should live it up, and do everything we want to do. We should just take it all in and not worry about the repercussions.  

But if there is more to life than just the here and now, we need to consider the big picture.

Friend, life on earth is short and temporary, but eternity is permanent and will continue forever.

WHAT AWAITS YOU IN ETERNITY?

Life is full of choices. The decisions we make today while on earth will affect our eternity.

Jesus spoke a lot about the end of life on earth and about what will happen in eternity.

Jesus spoke of a great divide in eternity, where we will either spend forever with him in his kingdom, or where we will be separated from him forever. 

One such parable was about sheep and goats, representing two groups of people, the sheep being a picture of God-fearing people who followed God, and the goats being people who lived godless lives. Jesus told us that at the end of life on earth, he would “separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Matthew 25:32)

Jesus went on, referring to the goats as unrighteous and said that “they will go away to eternal punishment” but the sheep, the followers of God would go on to “eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

At the day of judgment Jesus said that the wicked will go away to “eternal punishment” but the righteous to “eternal life.”

Both destinations are “eternal” and will therefore last forever.

“For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” (Romans 14:10)

Each one of us will have to appear before God and give a full account on how we lived our short temporary lives on earth.

There is more to life that just the few short years God gives you. You will live forever.

Do you know where you will spend your forever?

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)

YOUR ETERNITY REALLY MATTERS

Don’t leave your eternity to chance. You matter to God. If your life is not in right standing with God, please consider your ways.

There is more to life than just the short temporary life we live on earth. Life does not end at the grave. We were made to live forever, and you will continue to live on into eternity, either with God, in his Kingdom or separated from God for all eternity.

WHERE WILL YOU SPEND YOUR ETERNITY?

Jesus told us that in eternity there are only two destinations. We will either spend eternity in heaven with God, or we will spend eternity separated from God in hell.

According to Jesus, hell is…

• A “place of torment.” (Luke 16:23)
• A “place of danger.” (Mathew 5:22),
• A place of “outer darkness.” (Matthew 8:12),
• A place of “lost hope.” (Matthew 25:41),
• A place of “destruction. (Matthew 7:13)
• A place where there will be “” weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42 and Matthew 8:12),
• A place of “eternal punishment where the fire never goes out.” (Mark 9:42),
• A place where the “worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:48)

The Bible also has a lot to say about heaven. (We will look at this in a future message), but let me give you a quick glimpse of what eternity will be like in God’s kingdom.

Concerning Gods Kingdom in eternity, we are told that…

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

In Gods Kingdom there will be no more suffering and heartache, like we have on earth. We will spend eternity with God, where there will be no more darkness, no more fear, no more worry. We will know God. We will be in perfect peace. There will be no more death, no more sickness and no more pain.  

Jesus told us that he was going to “prepare a place for us.” (John 14:2)

Jesus also referred to heaven as “paradise”. (Luke 23:43)

We are told that those in God’s Kingdom will “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43) 

EVERLASTING LIFE  

In eternity, we will either spend forever with God or be separated from God. Life will either be perfect, better than your best day on earth ever, or worse than your worst nightmare. And it will stay this way forever and ever. 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

How can you know that you have eternal life?

John 3:36 tells us, “Whosoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

Do you believe in Jesus?  Have you put your faith in him? If not, today you can call on Jesus. 

Although we were cut off from God because of sin, God sent Jesus to be our Savior. 

John 3:16 tells us the good news, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus came to bring us eternal life. 

John3:17 continues, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus paid the full price for our sin so that we can be forgiven and come into an eternal relationship with God, that can start today and will go on forever. 

All you need to do to receive everlasting life is believe in Jesus. Put your faith, your trust and confidence in Jesus and his finished work on the cross. 

If your eternity is a matter of chance, I encourage you to get your life right with God. He is the creator. He made you to live forever. He wants to share forever with you. 

If you want to start or restart your walk with God, click here to pray a simple prayer we have set up for you.

^“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9-11)

If you would like to begin a relationship with God, call on Jesus. 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

God wants to share everlasting life with you. It is the reason that Jesus came.

When you repent of your sin and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, eternal life begins and continues beyond the grave into eternity. 

Eternal life is a gift from God that is only available through Jesus Christ. 

If you are a child of God, you have a bright eternal future to look forward to!

CONCLUSION: SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE  

There is so much more than the life here and now. I want to encourage you, to be heavenly-minded. Live life to the full but keep an eternal perspective. 

See the big picture. 

Colossians 1:1-4 tells us, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.“ 

Set your sights on the realities of heaven. If you are a child of God, your real life is hidden with Christ, and you will share eternity with Him.  

Live for God. Live with a heavenly perspective. Live as a citizen of heaven. Keep your eyes open. Be ready. You were made to live forever. God has a huge plan for your life. It is a good plan. It is an eternal plan. Keep your eyes on the big picture. 

You were made to live forever.

Above all, live to please God. 

“So we make it our goal to please him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9)