Set for Life (originally published October 20)
As a society, we are amazed at large amounts of money. Last night, there was a drawing for a PowerBall lottery jackpot totalling $340million. Listening to a radio talk show, I heard an interview with a woman who works for the lottery. She said that a person could opt for a one-time lump sum of about $167.7million, or the winner could take payments over 29 years which would grow from about $6-7million in year one to $13-14 in the final year. Untold numbers of tickets were sold trying to “hit it big.”
Each year the major professional sports hold their drafts. I usually watch part of the NFL draft, and am amazed at how well-dressed the highly-rated players are. Several years ago, a camera crew followed one highly-rated running back around in the final week leading up to the draft. He bought a nice suit, some jewels, a nice car and even a house for his parents. Keep in mind that he had not received one red cent for playing football in college (no jokes here). How did he buy all these things? The stores knew him and knew the money which would shortly be coming his way. So, they allowed him to purchase all these things on credit.
When people get these huge amounts of money from contracts or contests, we often hear the phrase, “He [or she] is set for life.” Truly, a great amount of financial security comes with these insanely large piles of cash. [Of course, I in no way endorse the lottery, but that is another article for another time.] Sometimes I try to think about how I would spend $10million, especially knowing that another $10million (or more) were coming my way next year. With just a couple of smart decisions, one would truly be financially “set for life” with such earnings.
I wonder, though, how many people are thinking of being “set” for eternal life? Are we daily making plans that will lead us to the ultimate place of peace? How do we do that? Here are some suggestions:
Make God priority #1. It is truly disheartening that many–even many Christians–do not make their worship of and service to God their true number one priority in life. While work, money and family all should have a place in our list of priorities, God needs to be number one. A verse that every Christian needs to think of daily is Jesus’ answer to the question, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:36-37). Notice the use of the word “all.” The 61st Psalm is a praise psalm which ends with these words: “So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows” (verse 8, emphasis added). All. Daily. God needs to be number 1.
Spend time with brothers and sisters in Christ. You have no doubt heard a preacher say something along these lines: “If we don’t like spending time with our Christian family here, what makes us think we will like heaven?” It really is a good question! If I have trouble getting along with brothers and sisters, how can I honestly sing, “When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be”? One thing that many congregations lack is a sense of family. We are busy having programs and building projects and business meetings. Sometimes we fail to remember that we are brothers and sisters. Those of us who work in the “planning” of events and programs may need to do a better job planning events that build relationships within and between generations. As Lanny Wolfe wrote, “And sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry; Sometimes we share together, heartaches and sighs; Sometimes we dream together of how it will be When we all get to Heaven, God’s family.”
Communicate with God. So often we are reminded to pray and read God’s Word, but how often do we? These moments of quiet communication can include thoughts of Heaven. Read passages from Him about Heaven (Revelation 21-22; Hebrews 11:8-10; Hebrews 4; Matthew 25:31-40; John 14:1-6;etc.). Talk to Him in prayer about your desire to be there and your inquisitive spirit wanting to know more about it. When we take a few moments trying to grasp the concept and beauty of Heaven, it makes us desire it even more.
Fulfill the Great Commission. Literally, “as you go” take God’s Word to others. We often speak of “getting up enough courage” to go to someone, and, often, that takes months or even years. How many people could we have spoken to in that short amount of time? We will not have a conversion every time–even Jesus didn’t do that–but we can do what Jesus has told us to do. When we can honestly say that we are taking God’s Message to everyone, we will be able to look back on our lives as Paul did and say, “I have finished the race” (Second Timothy 4:7).
Do you want to be set for eternal life? Simply do what God wants you to do. Ask for His help each day. I may never sign a contract that will pay me millions each year (okay, as a preacher, I will never do that!), but it is up to me to make sure that my soul is ready for eternity. God, through His love, mercy and grace; Jesus, through His sacrifice and example; and the Holy Spirit, through His revelation have already done their part. Now I simply need to do my part. Let’s get set for eternal life.
