Grasping Eternity

Impossible to Comprehend

In truth, it is impossible for man to fully comprehend the ramifications of eternity. We can attempt to use metaphors and illustrations to describe such a concept, but for man, who is trapped in the happenings of time, the concept of limitlessness is beyond our own experience. It is into this realm that God not only promises, but has purposed for His created beings to enter. While we are not eternal beings in the ultimate sense having had a beginning (unlike God who has no beginning), a part of us is created to last beyond the coil of this earthly frame.

The question of eternity is ironically of most importance to man within the realm of physical experience. When the eternal plain becomes reality there is no longer any question of where one will spend it, only the reality that such a condition can never change.

Real Comparisons

The temptations of earthly riches in this temporal life pale in comparison with the riches promised by God to those in Christ. Any particular thing which can be owned is simply something physical which will not last. All that is created is slowly decaying and falling apart – a fact proven by physics. How well will the shiny new car stand up to 1,000,000,000 years of time (they depreciate just by leaving the dealer’s lot). What possessions have lasting value in eternity? What do we have which will remain when the physical is done away?

The pleasures of earthly disobedience pale in comparison with the penalty they bring. There is no earthly treasure or price that can be paid by man for a single sin. Without the blood of Christ the situation is truly hopeless. A poor comparison would be to a $1,000,000,000,000 bill which accrues 10,000% interest, and you have no income forever – per sin. Eternal punishment is a devastating and truly frightening thought. Consider being in a prison cell until the prison turns to dust, the surrounding city passes away, and every star turns cold. Eternity will just have begun, and eternity in hell is not simply sitting in a cell.

Our Choices Now

The truth is that most every question which man will face concerning eternity is not to define its nature, but moral questions of behavior. It is our choices in this life that will determine our outcome in the next, and the only real question of value is whether or not you have Jesus Christ. He came not to give us eternity – we were always destined for that – but to transfer our eternity from the bleakest of despair to the greatest of wonder. Do we live each day with that future in mind?