What is Eternity, really? {Part One}

Eternity is?

peace  happiness  no war  a great big party

  fun  joy  no death  good things  ice cream

   friends  new bodies  no disasters  fountain of youth

  a feast  summer  good food  beauty

Jesus

How would you define eternity?

Maybe you have felt the call of eternity on your life.  Maybe you've experienced that deep hunger for something more than what this world sells in shiny, glittery, empty packages. Maybe you've felt in your own life how God can take a sinner and give their heart a passionate beat for Eternity.

But what is eternity, really?

So many people define eternity by how they want it to be.  I've been guilty of that myself-- wanting the good things about eternity but not really caring about whether God will be there.  There was a man who once said "Some people want to go to heaven, but they don't want God to be there." Doesn't that often describe us?  There are some legit things that God promises will be in heaven, and they are good things.  I'm not saying that we can't desire the good things that God promises about Eternity.  But I've been convicted that the sum of Eternity is so much more BIG in scope than that.  And I don't want to miss out on it.

Is eternity really just about me getting fulfilled and being happy and doing what I want to do?

Eternity means something radically different than that.  This past weekend I was at a conference and heard a speaker talk about Eternity.  One verse he read really stuck out to me.  This is Jesus, talking right before he was betrayed and killed.   He prayed to His Father and this is part of His prayer:

"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." ~John 17

Wait, eternal life isn't just a perfect place where we'll get to do fun things and be happy forever?

Eternity is about knowing Jesus and giving Him glory?

Part two coming soon!

Free

         This evening I took a walk around my neighborhood.  I was listening to this album and thinking about freedom and forgiveness.  There was something on my mind that I needed to let go of.   The feeling of freedom is amazing!  No matter what I've done, how I've failed- I am forgiven.  I don't need to wallow in sins that have been paid for by the death of Jesus.  I am FREE!
        Free means that I can pursue Jesus with all of my heart, soul, strength, and time.  Free means that my heart has been transferred to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.  Free means that sin lies DEAD, and with Christ sin can be defeated and destroyed.

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." 
~Galatians 5:13

        Now the hard part- actually doing it.  Not just talking and thinking about reading my Bible, but actually reading it.  Not just planning to pray, but praying.  Spending time with good books and investing in my family.  Confessing sin.  Holding my tongue.  Not defaulting to the Internet when I have free time.  Choosing to be grateful rather than grumble.  Choosing God.