Live For Eternity

By Rev Alvin Tan

I remember an old saying that states: “Never put all your eggs into one basket.” This saying came about because of someone's misfortune. This man placed all his eggs in one basket. He accidentally dropped that basket and all the eggs were broken. The moral of the story here is to remind us that we should not keep everything that we have or lay all our hopes on just one source.
In today's global market business, it means diversify! While we might not be big players in the stock market, we all are making important investment decisions every hour of the day. We are deciding how to spend our time; how are we going to live our lives??
The Apostle Peter gives us some important direction. It is not what we would expect from the financial experts or the street-smart guys. He tells us to put all your eggs in one basket and LIVE FOR ETERNITY. "Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to at the revelation of Jesus Christ". Cast everything upon Jesus Christ!

Proverbs 3:6 say, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.” When we acknowledge God to be God, He will direct our lives. To whom we focus our vision and throw in our lots with, that Person will decide the outcome.

We have been called by God into a privileged position of being born into the family of God with the guaranteed future of:
1) A living hope, associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Death is not our Destiny. The church is the only society on earth that doesn't lose any member through death. We have been called to life, eternal and abundant in Christ!
2) A protected eternal inheritance -- better than any inheritance this world could ever offer
3) A complete salvation -- not some partial deal where we still have the warts and blemishes of sin

Solomon in Ecclesiastes spells out the pointlessness of simply living under the sun without no thought of eternity we cannot hit the goal. We never attain the purpose of life and the reason we are here on earth. Having an ambition, reaching the height of our careers, having a house and family is great. However we must view them from an eternal perspective. Ecclesiastes 3: 11 declare that God has set eternity in the heart of every man so that we are restless until we find our rest and fulfillment in Him. We all have a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts. The only way to escape the pointlessness of the human condition is to live for eternity. Then we are living with a purpose and in hope.

LIVE IN HOPE BECAUSE OUR FOCUS MUST BE ON ETERNITY

Put All Our Eggs in One Basket is "fixing your hope completely" on Christ and Eternity.

We do not have to hedge our bets with God. We do not have to provide for our own security. We already have a “golden” parachute - our future is guaranteed. It was a very important promise for those suffering Christians in the early church. They had made a commitment and were paying the price. Was their sacrifice and faith worth it? Peter's question in Matt. 19:27-30 “- Lord, we have left all to follow you - Did we do the right thing?” Paul said in Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us”


Rest "on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ". (1 Peter 1:13)

The source of our hope is in the death, burial, resurrection and Second Coming of Christ. Paul once again declared in Titus 2:11-13 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus” We have tasted of God's grace and experienced its transforming power in varying degrees. When we are completely transformed into the likeness of Christ and that will be glory indeed.

For many people, the older they get, the more they desire for an elixir that will give them a “Fountain of Youth” state. Modern science tries to find ways to keep the human bodies young so that they could last longer. The scientists are working hard on cloning human beings and probably in the near future, human beings can clone themselves. By so doing they hope to live forever in their clones. Yet the reality is that the older our bodies get, the more we should long for that perfect redemption body. Our hope is not focused on keeping this body in an impossible “Fountain of Youth” state but rather on Christ who will give us a resurrection body. It is impossible to fix our hope on eternity while stockpiling all our resources for present luxury, comfort and earthly security. The Bible says, “Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.”

"Gird your minds for action" (1 Peter 1:13)
To “gird” one's mind comes from an ancient middle-eastern metaphor. When a person wanted to do some major physical work or to run a race, he gathered up his long outer garment and tucked it into the belt around his waist. That would prevent the garment from interfering with his movement. Therefore, Apostle Peter was admonishing us to prevent any interruption to our call and prepare to move on.

The same imagery was used in Luke 12:35 - "… be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit". We have to be ready when the Master returns. It will be a time of accountability and a journey to glory. We cannot coast through life in a neutral gear, or even cruise control. There is no room for spiritual lethargy. We need to make a choice for Jesus Christ and eternity. We have to put our lives in the flow of the Spirit and put the gears of our life in the drive mode. We need to be reminded that the call is not to gird your minds for thinking or dreaming but for ACTION

Exercise Self-control -- "keep sober in spirit"

Do not go off on a tangent or swing to an extreme end. Keep your head high on your shoulder and stay focused on Christ. However, that does not mean that you just sit around and do nothing. Some of the early Thessalonian believers quitted their jobs and sat around waiting for the return of Christ and so Paul reprimanded them. Going to the extreme is one of the characteristics of cults: they just cannot keep life in balance. It is often hard to balance intensity of mission with self-control of attitude. Peter wants us to be levelheaded about our commitment to eternity.
Fulfilling the tedious daily tasks and responsibilities must be transformed from the drudgery of futility to the balanced side of living for eternity. This is demonstrated by an attitude of obeying Jesus Christ with a thankful spirit in order to be an example and testimony to others. The everyday details of life take their significance from eternity.
Let us live For Eternity since We Have Such a Glorious Living Hope!