Eternal perspective
Eternal perspective
In the Bible Colossians 3:2 states, "Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."
What is all too easy for Christians to do is to get caught up in the temporal things of life. The air conditioner goes out and we go into a panic. The car gets a flat tire and we have no spare and we ask ourselves in a moment of desperation, "What am I going to do?" A friend rubs us the wrong way and we retaliate. A dish plate falls to the floor and cracks the tile and we think that life is almost over. Okay, that might be a little extreme, but you get my point. We get upset, frustrated and irritated over such minor things in life way too often. Very seldom do the upsets of life actually effect us drastically.
What we have to remember, and really seat deep into our heart, is that instead of being so temporally focused especially on things that have no permanent change for us, we should be eternally focused. Here's why: when our thoughts are on the eternal we are constantly reminded that God has a plan and purpose. We are reminded that God is sovereign, and we are reminded that God is working in us to fashion us into a man or woman of God.
So, the next time the dish falls, the tire pops, the friend says something hurting, or the air conditioner goes out when its a hundred degrees outside, keep your thoughts on the eternal and allow God to use that moment to do what is best in your life. The living God, through Jesus Christ, has an eternal goal for you and what we go through on earth is the means of reaching that goal.
Hey Pastor Mike, it’s Paul here. So recently I had to battle feelings of anger when my refigerator gave up the ghost in my 5th wheel. Oddly enough my moment of anger was relatively short in duration and intensity. I proactively attempted to see the possible benefits of this untimely happening. The event caused me to experience a couple of weeks of inconvenience, but I was able to use it as an exercise in simplified living. I still have the skill set to get by with less, that’s a good thing in way of living. I must say the Lord blessed with a vastly nicer replacement at a reasonable price, with a residential frig. Now people may think this example seems ridiculously frivolous, however if you knew my temper, you would see that I did a good job not blowing up! All made possible with the Grace God!
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