What is your eternal plan? What are you doing that has eternal consequences? What eternal legacy are you leaving behind or will you leave behind?
I don’t know enough about other cultures, but I do know that our culture, in the US, loves to soften the weight of death. We use phrases like “pushing daisies” and “kick the bucket” to ease the discomfort that accompanies the topic. Death is scary and can prevent us from thinking outside of our few years on Earth. With that in mind, let’s consider two people. Both are dreamers and regularly face that feeling, that pull of the Holy Spirit, that tries to lead them to act on God’s behalf. Person One has a packed schedule and wears it like a badge of honor. Their calendar is full of house chores, job management, children raising, marriage upkeep, and some recreation when there’s time. Person Two has a busy schedule as well, just as many kids, and is also happily married. Person Two, however, as we’ll see, has different priorities. Luckily, their kids play on the same soccer team, so we can see how those priorities affect their decisions.
They both stop by the same coffee shop on the way to their kid’s soccer game with their little soccer players in tow. They even run into each other as they approach the door. They also both see the same person standing outside with a sign that reads “No home. No food. Anything please.” Both smile at the person as they enter, and both feel the initial tug on their heart. “Holy Spirit? What do you want me to do,” they both think. In line, that tug intensifies, leading them back to thoughts of that person outside.
“We are looking forward to the game today!”
“Yea, us too. It’s perfect weather.”
Both try to ignore it.
Person One, who was first in line, orders a classic black coffee, pays, nods to Person Two, and says, “See you there! The game starts in 15 minutes. Better hurry up!”
“I know,” Person Two responds. “Looks like we both got a late start today.”
As Person One leaves, Person Two’s eyes follow them. They walk out the door and past the person holding the sign and, just for a second or two, slows almost to a stop. Eventually, they continue, holding their child’s hand as they walk, saying something about how they just want to see their child try their best out there today, but we better hurry up. Person Two’s eyes fall back on the person with the sign. Their hearts remain unsettled, and they decide to order two coffees. “Why are you getting two? I’m too young for coffee,” their child says. Person Two responds, “I know. It’s not for you, silly.” They exit the coffee shop and slowly go up to the person with the sign. Offering the person the extra coffee, a conversation ensues and results in the three of them praying together; parent, child, and complete stranger.
What probably leads to tardiness to a soccer game fosters a moment focused on something with longer-lasting effects. You might think that the person with the sign is the one affected mostly here, but what about that child? They witnessed their parents choosing Heaven’s agenda over Earth’s. To really make it clear, let’s call Person One “Mr. Now” and Person Two “Mr. Eternity.” While seemingly similar in every way, Mr. Eternity’s priorities are on, well… eternity, because they, like all of us, know that we are all going to die one day. Sorry if that is too blunt. We are all going to die, so while Mr. Eternity is here on Earth, their mission is focused on having an eternal impact.
What Is Your Eternal Plan?
Counselors, life coaches, and the like frequently ask, “What is your 5- or 10-year plan?” When asked, some of us sober up quickly because we realize we don’t have one. We simply live day to day, trying our best to make some sense of it all. Others do have plans, maybe lots of them. All of them are laid out in very detailed presentations describing each phase; phases that focus on career advancement, education for their kids, retirement, climbing the fame ladder, or learning earthly skills. This is good, as it means they are thinking about long-term rippling effects, but we are here to discuss something infinitely more important than your 5-year plan or even a 10-year plan.
What is your eternal plan? What are you doing that has eternal consequences? What eternal legacy are you leaving behind, or will you leave behind?
I know these questions sound cheesy, but don’t start laughing. Have you seriously thought about eternity? Mr. Eternity has, and not because it’s his name. It’s because he prioritizes things that have eternal ramifications. If you haven’t thought about your eternal plan, I highly recommend you stop everything you are doing right now and think about it. Asking yourself, “What’s my eternal plan?” can keep you busy for a while. It is daunting, sobering, and scary, but considering this question can refocus your trajectory in life to align with God’s plan.
3 Shifts When You Focus on Eternity
Refocusing on eternal efforts instead of earthly efforts will result in three paradigm shifts.
1. Your timeline will adjust. Instead of thinking about yourself as being summarized in the years on earth, as the “dash” between two years on your gravestone, your paradigm shifts to understanding that life does not end when we die. Living for God no longer means your actions have temporary significance. Your actions can mean that entire generations are blessed because you chose to follow Christ. Talk about impact; decisions you make can last forever!”
2. God wants you. To live for Him, we must accept Him, so before anything else, your soul must be reunited with God. He wants you to focus inward, first; your heart, your soul. Have you taken the step of accepting Jesus as your savior? Only then can you take up your cross and live with eternal results in mind.
3. Lastly, focusing on eternity instead of earthly efforts shifts your focus from you to others. With Christ in your heart and the Holy Spirit leading you, actions turn to helping others, intentionally parenting or discipling the next generation. Like Jesus, whom we start modeling our life after, we will strive to serve others.
Bonus! There are two extra benefits of following God with a refocused life on eternity. One is that the fear of death evaporates. Much of our life is spent living in fear of the “great unknown,” but with God’s promise, we know we will end up in Heaven with Him and all that went on before us. Death no longer scares us into living “timidly but with a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Secondly, your decisions will change. Like Mr. Eternity, decisions will change from focusing on self and now to whatever God is calling you to do. His mission for you may not come to fruition for a year or in 10 years or in 100 years. Stopping to pray with someone outside a coffee shop may not show any results in your lifetime, but may affect family generations down the timeline.
Here’s the hard truth. Whether intentional or not, every choice you make has eternal consequences. Selfishly donating money to a family in need certainly will have positive effects, but not praying with someone or not inviting someone to church may have negative eternal consequences. Everything you do makes an impact. And that’s what we all want; we all want to be influential and make an impact. We want to know that we matter.
We will all die, and when we do, all of our earthly efforts go with us. All the money, all of the fame, all of the promotions. Even those of us that have been following Christ get distracted by earthly desires and ambitions. Take time to evaluate how you may need to realign your actions to reflect that your forever home is Heaven and not Earth.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/ChainarongPrasertthai
