We — all of humanity — are eternal spirits. We live in a body and we are managed by our minds. The minds that we have programmed. Yet, eternity escapes us. We just do not go there. We do not get it. Eternity is not a factor in most of what we do. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMPC) says:
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
As we analyze the knowledge (knowing the facts), wisdom (knowing how the facts apply to us personally) and understanding (knowing the facts and how they apply to us personally fits into our Creator God’s plan for all of humanity), this scripture presents a very real and strong relationship between humanity and eternity.
Knowledge/ Fact: Our Creator and God placed eternity in our spirits and in our minds
Wisdom: Knowing the facts about our relationship with and through eternity provides information and direction for understanding and operating in our unique purpose. We know that this is provided for all of humanity from our Creator God and that it is “divinely implanted” in each of us even before our birth. Without understanding and following their individual purpose, Humanity struggles through life for meaning and often is never aware of their Created Design. Knowing one’s Created Design provides direction and fulfillment that nothing else can or will provide.
Understanding: Most of humanity goes through their existence on Earth pursuing goals and ambitions that have little or nothing to do with their or anyone else’s outcome. Most often the motivating factor is income and a desired lifestyle on the earth. Even if they achieve wealth and position, they also experience great frustration and enormous discontent because they are unfulfilled and not happy. “Nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy humanity” and provide the fulfillment and contentment we so desperately long for. All of this appears to be based on eternity and upon our eternal purpose.
In a previous study on Eternal Life we addressed exactly what Eternal Life means. In many presentations on the subject, the idea seems to be that Eternal Life begins when Humanity’s life on earth ends — when our spirit departs our earth suit, and our spirits enters a new dimension or environment that very few of us know very little about. Eternal Life is defined as life without beginning and without ending. We live in that environment now. We experience the reality of eternity now. Where our bodies are mortal and temporary (ashes to ashes) our spirits already are eternal. We will never die. We will not “spend” eternity anywhere. Eternity does not “spend.” It is forever. We are eternal beings now.
To leave out the understanding and the perspective of eternity in our lives and in all that we do, and especially all of the decisions and the choices that we make now on this planet, is to miss our primary purpose for our being here. Life on this planet is about relationship. More importantly, our lives are about our “eternal relationships.” It is almost like we are in school. We are studying and we are learning how to prepare for and how to plan our eternity. This understanding and this preparation determines our experience of eternity, or how we enjoy our eternal life. The correctness and the accuracy of our eternal choices are very important.
Most of the results on eternity of our day to day choices are not readily visible to the human eye. They can only be seen through the eyes of our eternal spirit. That requires a reprogrammed mind that understands and that chooses to operate on the eternal level with an eternal viewpoint of our choices. However, because the present and temporal impact are so easily seen, it is difficult to allow our eternal impact to even play a part in our decision of our choices of conduct and behavior.
We have become an instant society, and we enjoy immediate and immediately visible results. I am not sure that is all good. The impact on eternity of our choices and decisions is immediate. However, it requires observation and understanding through a mind that is programmed to think like our God thinks. Eyes to see and ears to hear, both come from the Lord and from a relationship with Him.
The understanding of Kingdom is an understanding of eternity. Proverbs so accurately presents the Dynamics of eternity through Kingdom choices. The conflicting and competing forces are the Kingdom of Darkness, which is about everything temporary, and the Kingdom of Light, which is completely about eternity.
Very good! Enjoyed reading and reminding myself of my ongoing purpose. In this day and age it is easy to get caught up in the NOW. Thanks for allowing me a moment of retrospect and a reminder of continuation. Praying my focus will be eternal.