When The Power Of Eternity Impacts Today

Before you move any further into your day, I want you to do something a bit uncomfortable. I want you to reflect back to something that may fill you with fear, pain and awkwardness. I want you to journey back to junior high … the fear, the awkwardness, the anxiety, the overall lack of confidence:

• Am I dressed right? Does my hair look OK?
• Who is my friend?
• What if I can’t find my class? What if I forget my locker combination?
• Does that girl or guy like me? Do they even know who I am?
• What do I do when I have to change in gym class? How does the kid sitting next to me have a full beard?

While that might not have been as uncomfortable as you thought it would be, we need to acknowledge something important. We often live like we are still in junior high – caught up in the details and drama of today — or this life in general — without confidence or a perspective beyond the here-and-now that would influence what we face.

We read in 1 John 5:13 (NIV) – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have ETERNAL LIFE.”

The confidence we need to face our day, and the perspective we need to understand and overcome the uncertainties, fears and areas of pain in life, is found in Jesus.

It’s not just about knowing some facts or philosophies, but knowing and being known by Jesus Christ, the Savior, Creator, Sustainer, Mediator and Eternal King. This is MASSIVE! IT IS A GAME CHANGER! Because it says that when we believe, we may KNOW that we have ETERNAL LIFE!

The power and reality of eternal life isn’t just something meant for when our time on this world is finished. It is something meant to radically alter the lives we are currently living.

It alters how we live now!

Jesus knows us. We can know Him. We can make Him known. This changes EVERYTHING!

It’s like knowing how the game ends — that you win before the game even starts. It’s that way with LIFE. If you knew the ending, you would live completely differently. It’s not merely a perspective of eternity, but the presence and power of eternal life here and now, in your life today. Imagine how this seemingly ordinary day has the possibility of being extraordinary.

It’s a confidence that changes everything.

Here is a little “confidence” test. Fill in the blank. “I am confident of _________________________…”

Things like taxes or death might have come to mind. Scripture tells us that while we will face troubles, we can have confidence. It tells us hundreds of promises like the fact that nothing can separate us from Jesus’ love for us (Romans 8) and that we are His chosen ones, God’s Special Possession! (1 Peter 2). We are also told that through knowledge of Him and this eternal life, we have everything we need for a godly life! (2 Peter 1).

The key is in the knowing! That is what alters how we live now! It’s not that things aren’t difficult or are suddenly easy, but we can’t step into these places where the Kingdom of Heaven needs to invade our often-broken lives, and this broken earth, without the confidence and assurance that it can and will be done! “Your kingdom come, Your will be done… ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!” It’s an assurance that it not only CAN happen, it WILL happen!

This week, try a little self-examination. Ask yourself the following questions.

1. What is Jesus Christ to Me? (What do I think of Him? What is my view of this person described in the Gospels, of His words and His actions?)
2. What is my attitude toward God? (Is it one of fear? Of obligation? Of negligence, of mistrust, of indifference, of gratitude …What is it?)
3. What are the actions I’m compelled to do from the first two answers?

The reality is, you can know! You don’t have to approach your day, your job, your trials, the details of this life like a junior high student – you can do it, through Christ, with confidence. It’s a confidence that comes through the power and perspective of eternal life!