Sometimes I have a really difficult time wrapping my head around the idea that I do not belong here in this world. I know that the Bible says that we are just visiting (to put it in our terms) but it is hard to really live like that when so much of our human experience is tied up in the physical reality of this world. I understand (at least I think I do) that I have a dual nature (for lack of a better word) that consists of my body and my soul. They are both “me” but there is something distinct about them as well.
At some point my body will die and the only thing left will be that other part. I have heard it said that eternal life begins the second we accept the truth about Jesus Christ. From that moment on, we are living the eternal life that God intended for us. I admit that I never really thought about it in those terms. To me, eternal life was what was waiting at the end of this existence. It was something to hope for and something to strive for. If it is as others say, then I should view this life in a different way.
If I am already part of God’s kingdom and I am already living life eternal (a life that God wants to be abundant) then I should behave like it. While it is true that there is this physical existence, we all experience and it requires our time and our energy, our main efforts should be focused on the spiritual (eternal) things. Our relationships (while defined in finite human terms) transcend the physical world. I have a wife. I have children. I have parents. I have siblings. I have friends. These relationships are tangible and help to define who I am here in the physical world. However, one day, when this body is dead and gone, those relationships will still exist but on another level.
If I am supposed to be living this life with my focus on the spiritual aspect then those human relationships should reflect that as well. My wife is more than my wife. My children are more than my children. Every relationship I have should transcend more than just the earthly aspect. As I said, that can be a difficult concept to grasp. What I am trying to understand is that every human being on earth has been created in God’s image. He loves every single one of them. Every one of them has an eternal destiny. I need to remind myself of that. I should be living for eternity right here and right now.
Grace and peace.
That 80s Pastor Dude 