I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 ESV
The old is passing away. The new has not yet come. We are in the in-between. We know this world will be destroyed with unquenchable fire. A new heaven and a new earth await. But in the meantime, we are sojourners in this temporary place.
When we know the future, it informs our present. If you are in Christ, you know that you will be saved from the coming wrath of God. It gives you hope, even in hopeless situations.
There’s nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Except for our ignorance. We can be unaware. We can forget. We can be in darkness. But the truth is, God’s love is unstoppable. It always reaches its target. Even the ones that we think are impossible.
I’ve seen it in my own life. People that you think are too hard hearted, too cynical, too jaded, too educated and intelligent to believe the simple Gospel. God knows how to get their attention. Because God knows that deep down inside, we’re all the same. We’re shallow little flesh creatures in need of spiritual regeneration. We need to be born again, of God.
Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile us back to God. He reestablished friendly relationship with God for us, all we have to do is believe. Believe in Jesus and you will be saved. It’s that simple.
Belief is the beginning of new life. Faith in Jesus means you’ve entered into God’s family. Once you’re family, there’s no way out except death. And then you’re still family. There is no death for those who are in Christ Jesus. That’s why it’s called eternal life.
Now that you’ve got eternal life, what do you do with it? You live for God. It’s that simple. You can wrestle with your flesh, with sin, with the world and with demons all you want. Eventually, you’ll realize all that stuff is meaningless compared to knowing God. The sooner you make up your mind to go all in with Jesus, the better. It’ll save you from pointless suffering.
Heaven awaits us. Our one-way ticket has already been purchased. We know where we’re going, no matter what happens in this lifetime. The question remains, what will you do in this lifetime? Will you be a shining star of God’s love in the flesh? Or will you be a spectator? Sitting on the sidelines, watching the world go by.
Life is meant to be lived. The world wants you to be a faithful consumer of products and services. It wants to extract wealth from your servitude. God wants you to be counter-cultural. He wants you to stand for Him while the world rushes off a cliff into extinction.
Does the future look bleak? Only in the short term. When we live from an eternal perspective, there is no darkness.
The light always overcomes the darkness. If you look for darkness, you will find it. If you let your light shine, it will overcome the darkness.
The Light is inside of you. Let it shine for the whole world to see. Amen.