"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short ... for this world in its present form is passing away."
(1 CORINTHIANS 7:29A, 31B)
Deferred gratification is not an easy lesson, especially for children. When eyeing a cheap trinket, the prudence of saving their allowance so they can buy something better in the future is a hard sell. At that age, time moves so slowly it seems like the future will never come; a month might as well be a decade.
Certainly as adults our sense of time is more developed. Yet when it comes to matters of eternity, we are still very much like children in our comprehension, aren’t we? We overvalue earthly concerns like career and marital status, because we cannot perceive how quickly they will pass away. At the same time we undervalue the things which will endure into eternity.
What does it look like to be driven by kingdom priorities? For that we look to Jesus “who, for the joy set before him endured the cross.” With the same joy before us, we fix our eyes on Jesus and obey Him. Content with the life He has given us, we love others sacrificially, make disciples and, in doing so, invest in eternity.
Certainly as adults our sense of time is more developed. Yet when it comes to matters of eternity, we are still very much like children in our comprehension, aren’t we? We overvalue earthly concerns like career and marital status, because we cannot perceive how quickly they will pass away. At the same time we undervalue the things which will endure into eternity.
What does it look like to be driven by kingdom priorities? For that we look to Jesus “who, for the joy set before him endured the cross.” With the same joy before us, we fix our eyes on Jesus and obey Him. Content with the life He has given us, we love others sacrificially, make disciples and, in doing so, invest in eternity.
Scripture Focus
1 John 2:1-17
Insight
TRUE CONTENTMENT REQUIRES ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. WE MUST BE CONVINCED THAT WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US FAR SURPASSES ALL THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER.
Bible In A Year
- 1 Samuel 13-14
- Psalm 126
- 2 Corinthians 6-7