Thoughts On Eternity

Earlier this week, I finished writing a paper on the events of the book of Revelation, specifically on the Tribulation. As I continue struggling to wrap my finite mind around all that I have researched and come to learn, I find it difficult to separate the reality documented in Scripture and the fiction described in the Left Behind book series. While I realize there is only one Truth and one way to approach the impending end of days, the worldly part of me is torn between the excitement of Jesus’ return and the confusion of my earthly life being, literally and metaphorically, cut short. 

After all, in my limited scope of eternity, I have hoped for myself to grow both up and old, one day looking back on a life lived on this earth to the fullest. 

However, a quote from John Nelson Darby stands out to me: 

“If you are wishing for money, or seeking to make provision for placing your children in the world, or if you have any plans for the future, you cannot wish for the Lord Jesus to come; and it you cannot, then your hearts are not right with Jesus.” 

Building upon this, Jesus famously said, in the Sermon on the Mount, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt. 6:24). 

In this instance, “money” can be replaced with a number of aspirations: we, as Christ-followers, cannot serve both God and money, worldly success, retirement, luxury, or even our own plans for the future. If we are to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, then any preconceived notions about our lives and what futile plans we have made for ourselves must be thrown to the wind. 

A surefire way to see our lives crumble before us is to try and build them with our own hands. 

These words ring true of all that the future entails, be it God’s plan for our individual beings or the future of the world as we know it. The Tribulation, as much as we may regularly dismiss it, is coming, and we must stand prepared. As I pray about God’s plan for my life, the words of the One who gave His life for me jump out from the pages of the Gospel of Mark: 

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:35-37).

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-JDH