Eternity
eludes us, even as a thought.
—Mason Cooley
We
toss the word “eternity” around so lightly. You know the kind of thing: “I
waited an eternity to see the doctor.” Or, “They kept me on hold for an
eternity.”
Not
even remotely close, my friend.
Let’s
stop for a moment and really think about what eternity means: Infinite time; duration without beginning or
end. Forevermore. Ever and always. Never ending. No “last amen,” no swan
song, no more “the end.”
Never an end.
Time
without end, which actually means time no longer is. Time and eternity will meet, and time will cease to exist. What’s
left will be…an infinity.
When
Christ returns and takes us home with Him, that’s how long we’ll have to praise
the Lord, to lift His name on high, to chat with the saints of old, to visit with our loved ones...to be gloriously, unendingly happy. An ongoing, endless duration of existence during
which we’ll never have to say good-bye to someone we love, never be sad, never
be lonely, never worry about how to stretch a dollar a hundred ways to Monday.
Oh,
yes, Heaven’s going to be a beautiful, amazing, wonderful, endless joy!
But
there is a flip side to every coin. Whether we make Heaven or…well, whether we
don’t…eternity will be just as long.
Think
about it.
Daniel 12:2 (KJV)—And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
I love this reminder on how lovely heaven will be. Mostly I hope God lets me be with my daddy, my gram, Jackie and my twin brother Mike...as well as my beloved dogs. Kinda childish, I know, but that would be perfection as I stand in His amazing grace. Love you all...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure God will let you do just that, Tanya! :) Love you back!
ReplyDeleteDelia, you are so right. We use the word eternity so easily but do we really stop to think about it. Most of us don't. But as believers we have an understanding of what eternity really means that most can't comprehend as unbelievers. I think if the unbeliever did grasp this there wouldn't be a single unbeliever left on the earth as not one of them would willing go to hell instead of spending their eternity in heaven. Quite frankly, know my daughter is already in heaven and that someday when I die I too will be with her up in heaven with our Lord and Savior, it is a beautiful thing tha brings a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteI have dear ones waiting in Heaven, as well, Kristena. Can't wait to see them, knowing we'll never have to say good-bye again!
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