Not a second to waste.

The clock of life is ticking away.

As I was driving home one day, I couldn’t help but notice the memorial stones from a cemetery nearby. Something inside me was telling me to go and explore. It was almost like a magnetic effect, I felt as if someone was calling my name and my eyes reverted from the road to the cemetery and back. I decided to drive to the entrance and go in. Emotions of sadness coupled with reverence tugged at my heart. I wanted to take a walk, but there were no places to park, so I found myself driving around on the narrow road that surrounded the entire cemetery. My eyes fell on the names engraved on the stones and the flowers that adorned them. I drove around and stopped frequently so I could read what the engravings said. Phrases like, “beloved husband and friend,” “to my wife, gone but not forgotten,” and “to our brother, our souls are waiting to join you,” captured my attention as I was getting lost in a sea of burial stones. A sense of hopelessness washed over me but it was quickly overcome by God’s reassuring presence. The lonely stones reminded me of the reality of this life. Death is inevitable. Every living soul in this universe has or will taste death sooner or later. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:7, “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” The Word of God is so true and powerful! Me and you are but dust in which God breathed His Spirit and gave us life. God didn’t just give us life, but He also restored us to life in Him through the cross! How beautiful and marvelous this is! I want to live my life for the One who gave me life and salvation! I want my life to leave the imprint of Christ and His love in this world. I don’t want to live my life disconnected from the reality of eternity, but I want to embrace it and live out the calling I have received with everything that’s in me! I want to touch the lives of those who are stumbling in the darkness and let the Light of God bring them back to life! This life is so short. All too often we live for ourselves and forget that this life is not about us; it’s about God! I’m thankful that through the grace of God I will spend eternity in heaven, but that’s not all. I want to live my life here on earth with a heart that’s truly devoted to Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters! I want to die to myself completely and let Christ live through me. It’s so easy to be selfish and focus only on your own needs and problems, but look around you! There are so many souls who need Christ!! He didn’t shed His blood for just me and you. The price He paid is too high and I want to honor it with my life! I pray that God will awaken our hearts to the reality of life. I feel that the Church is asleep. We are so caught up in ourselves. We think that this life is all about us when it’s NOT. It’s all about Jesus Christ!!! We need the Spirit of God to awaken us to the reality of His will. We can’t waste our lives on the things of this earth which are temporary, we need to focus on the eternal because that’s all that is left in the end. Our churches are filled with mediocre Christians who think that the Christian life is all about going to church, having a nice home, driving an expensive car, and adding a few moral ambitions to their lives. Though we profess to know God, we are distant and lukewarm. True joy is not found in a husband/wife, a career, not even in earthly success. True joy is found in Christ alone! In giving Him everything that we are. In living for Him every moment of our lives. In a life of surrender and sacrifice. In living a selfless life. I want my life to leave Christ’s eternal imprint in a powerful way! When I will close my mortal eyes that I may open them in eternity, I want my memorial stone to stand as a radical inspiration for others to live lives truly abandoned to Christ. I pray that we will not be satisfied with living an average “Christian” life, but that we will live lives of complete surrender, full of passion for Christ! So many times, actions have a more powerful impact than words. So, live your life in the Light of Christ and lead people to Him! Your life will come to an end. I wonder how many of those memorial stones marked the beginning of eternity in heaven and how many of those souls are spending eternity in hell. We have a crucial role to play in this life! The sand of time is slipping away too quickly through the hourglass of life. Are you living every day as if it were your last?

Living in anticipation of eternity.

This life is only part of the journey.

I’m a traveler. This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. Sometimes I fail to remember that I’m a stranger on a journey. My family, my friends, and everything about this life is temporary. It will all come to an end one day. As tempting as it is to fall into thinking that this life is all there is, it’s far easier to look ahead with anticipation of something more. The past is gone, the future isn’t ours, and the present doesn’t allow much space for our souls to breathe. We need so much more than just the “now.” If you live focused only on this life, you’ll soon suffocate. If you live in awareness of the eternity to come, you’ll find peace and purpose. There’s power in knowing that our struggles on this earth will end one day! When I fix my eyes on the eternity ahead of me, my heart becomes strong and hopeful. I am filled with strength and comfort. Imagine the lives we would live if we never lost sight of what’s to come! We would go through suffering with a different attitude. I know life is not easy, Christ never said it would be, but we are assured that eternity does exist! This brief life will end one day and we will transition into a perfect place. I find myself dreaming about it at times. One day, sorrow, hurt, fear, and everything that paralyzes our hearts won’t exist anymore! If I close my eyes and play a beautiful memory in my mind, feelings of happiness, peace, and hope engulf my heart. Imagine living in that moment of pure bliss forever. Wow, what an extraordinary thought! Do you ever wonder why we wish we could relive a good experience from our past? I think it’s because we have “eternity” written all over our souls. Somewhere deep down, we know we were created for it and long to live in it. One day, the dust underneath my feet will vanish in the wind. My body will disappear into nothing. The memories that made up my life will become a faint echo of what I once knew. The joy and sorrow of this life will come to an end. My face will be forgotten and my voice won’t be heard anymore. Yet, this is not the end of the story! I know that my soul, the essence of who I really am, will continue to live forever. I will open my eyes to see all the beauty and glory of the place that my Father is creating for me! That day, I will fall to my knees in awe of all that He is and will spend eternity in His presence. I will tell Him how much I love Him and He will take me in His arms and tell me that He always held me close. Even in the times when I felt alone and hurt, He had never left my side. All things that are blurry and hard to understand now will become clear and obvious. So, take heart! Your struggles will come to an end. This life is temporary. Eternity is real and closer than you can fathom! Are you ready for it if your journey on earth ends soon? The truth is, it’s when we enter it that we truly begin to live. Come on, live your life in hope and be courageous! Let’s keep the flame of eternity burning bright within our hearts!

They focus on the here and now.

This world is lonely and cold.

Why do people focus more on temporary instead of focusing on eternal? Why do they live a life of emptiness? Why do they lie to themselves by thinking that they are fulfilled when they clearly know they are not? I look around and all I see are shadows that get lost in the darkness of this world. I am surrounded by people who have no idea what their purpose is in this life. People wear a mask which says, “everything is okay..really” when they know so well it’s not. Do they even stop to think that they are lying to themselves or are they too blind to even realize the fact that they are? I see people who still wonder how they came about or if they really evolved from a monkey. This world is full of people that are in denial of the truth because they think that believing in something that might not be true is just not worth it. They say that they choose not to believe, but have they stopped to think that by not believing that there is a God; they actually believe in something that might not be true? Is it just easier to live for yourself thinking that your life comes to a stop when you close your eyes to never open them again? I think it is. What this world fails to admit is the truth that life does not end when your body hits the grave, but it is rather then when it begins. When we close our mortal eyes, we automatically open the eyes of our soul; which are eternal. Your life does never end. Let me put it this way, your soul is made to live forever. One day, you will open your eyes in eternity and will realize that your life was the only chance you had in order to choose where your soul is going to live forever. There are only two choices, and I’m sure you know very well what they are. Tomorrow is not yours, so live today carefully. You have a choice; choose wisely. Your eternity depends on it!