Eternal, everlasting, forever, these words are so foreign to us, especially the idea of anything lasting forever. I remember lying in my bed when I was fourteen years old trying to sleep and wrestling with the concept of eternity. I recall being very frightened by anything that had no end to it. It seemed too formidable, too large to grasp, maybe too good to be true. I felt conflicted because so many things I had thought would last forever had failed to do so.
Everlasting love was a foreign idea, since my loving mother and my grandfather had died. Lasting relationships were anything but lasting; my dad and step-mother had divorced and remarried twice. Nothing really seemed to be permanent, certainly not love or the people I loved. I wondered about God and what He said about eternity in scripture. I thought about time without end; never losing a loved one again and never hurting or being hurt. These were deep thoughts for a fourteen year old! I still often reflect on where I will be and where others will be when our time comes to step into the everlasting future.
If you were to ask the average person where they are going to spend eternity, they either dismiss the idea there is any such thing as everlasting life or they have no answer in which they have complete confidence. However, the scriptures speak often of eternal things. For example: God loves us with an everlasting love; Jesus came to give us eternal life and what about forever and ever, Amen? The idea of our souls living forever is evident over and over in the Bible. Where we will spend this unending time is really a matter of our choice. People can choose eternal life, as promised to those who believe in Christ and trust Him for salvation. Or we can choose our own way; everlasting death separated from God and anything we ever loved or ever made us happy or satisfied. Jesus said in John’s Gospel, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one can come to the Father but by Me.”
Reading in the book of Hebrews, I clearly see that Jesus became a man for one main reason, so He could die. He came to share our infirmities, be tempted as we are and He chose to experience actual death in order to destroy death. The eternal Son of the Father, Jesus Christ, became time-bound just as we are. He experienced human life in the Roman dominated Jewish culture where struggles were many and yet He did not sin. It is mind boggling to imagine Almighty God, who has no beginning and no end, sending His only Son into this hostile temporary environment. As one who experienced eternity and knows what forever really means, Jesus came to reveal His love for people and His words still express a sense of urgency to draw people to His Father. He desired that we all know the forever love He experiences with God Almighty. Jesus does not want anyone to be lost forever. We can choose life; a life with no end by surrendering ourselves to Him. Today is the right time; we don’t have forever to make this choice! May God remove all obstacles and set a fire of faith in our hearts that will never be quenched. Doma
