Eternity Begins Here

“Eternal life begins here on earth;  not when we get to Heaven.  We can enjoy and experience His joy, peace and comfort here on earth.”

– Pastor Ben Cross…December 1, 2013

I don’t think I have ever thought of eternal life beginning here on earth before.  When we talk of Heaven and eternity, we talk about when we get there.  We talk about the struggles here and the pure joy “up there”.  We talk about our time here on earth being short and THEN we will enjoy eternal life someday when “He takes us home.”

This reminds me of a bride planning the wedding and getting so caught up with the details that she misses the joy of the preparation of the wedding.  She thinks only of how she, the bridemaids, flowers, and church will look.  Will the caterer make the right food, the vows will go off without a hitch, the ring bearer will make it all the way down the aisle, the limo, the reception, how the guests will like it and so on and so on.  The bride and her family become overwhelmed with the busyness and chaos, but the minute she stands at the back of the aisle and looks at her groom at the other end, all the chaos goes away.

There is so much to be done before we “walk down the aisle” to meet our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ at the gate of Heaven.  He has placed us on earth for a purpose. He created a wonderful world for us to enjoy.  He makes it possible for us to have a personal and loving relationship with Him and to lead others to Him.  Unlike an earthly bride, it is not about how WE look, but about how we make HIM look.  We can trust and follow Him because He will take care of the details.  We don’t have to panic.

One day, we will “walk down the aisle” and see His face for the REST of eternity.  He will be radiant and I think we will too!  Revelations gives us an imagery of a wedding to express the intimate relationship between God and his people. In this image, He is the Groom and we, His people, are His bride.  What a great day that will be!

For now, though, we have a life to live and to live it to the fullest as we prepare for the “ultimate wedding”.  To bring glory and honor to the Lord and to grow in our relationship with Him. Eternity begins right here, right now.  Enjoy and rejoice!