If we were to take a spiritual eye exam, what would the Great Physician tell us of our
vision? Would we need spiritual glasses to improve our vision at a distance or close up, or is our spiritual vision at 20/20?Most of the world has a severe
problem seeing at a distance … spiritually. They are spiritually nearsighted in
other words. What I mean by that is that there is little thought given to our
eternal state, the far-off factor. We are only interested in what is happening
in our lives today. The future can take care of itself … so we think.
Only the wise realize there
is an eternal state determined for every soul and that eternal state may not be
as far away as we think. It could be just around the corner. It could be today.
The gamblers will take a chance. The wise will deal with it now.
Even Christians, true born-again
Christians, may need their spiritual vision corrected. For example, some
Christians want nothing to do with prophecy, even though about 30% of the Bible
is prophecy. Others may concentrate only on prophecy and ignore the “Go ye
therefore” command of our Lord.
Jesus expects His followers
to feed on all of His Word (100%), not just the portion we choose. God’s Word,
the Bible, is not a buffet, where we just pick and choose what appeals to us. For
our spiritual vision to be 20/20, we need to see well at a distance and also
close up.
Going back to the eternal
thought, consider that the Bible, in the King James Translation (KJV), uses the
words eternal or everlasting a total of 144 times. Eternal and
everlasting both come from the Greek word aionios. The definition of aionios is:
1.
without beginning
and end, that which always has been and always will be
2.
without beginning
3.
without end,
never to cease, everlasting
Since only God is “without
beginning,” numbers one and two cannot apply to anyone other than God. Therefore,
only number three concerns mankind.
Every person born will spend
eternity in one of two places after the physical life ends, either Heaven or
Hell. Due to that Biblical fact, eternity (aionios #3 above) should be foremost
in all our minds. Unfortunately, and sadly, that is rarely the case.
Those without Christ are
nearsighted when it comes to their soul. Their eyes are set on the here and now,
and little if any thought is given to eternity. They live like they will never die
and have to face their Creator, but none of us are exempt. They shrug God off and
give little thought about what awaits them down the road.
The clock ticks as time
marches on, but what lies ahead is never brought into focus. Only the present
matters. As little children who live from minute to minute, so are those who
are only interested in this world and its siren call. What happens at the end
of life is ignored, “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: …” (Luke 12:20)
The one who has placed his faith
in Jesus looks off to eternity, knowing that life is short. He does not play
the fool, but considers the welfare of his soul. He looks down the corridor of
time and knows he needs to secure his place in Heaven now and not depend on
tomorrow.
“Look
here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will
stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”
How
do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning
fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
What
you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or
that.”
Otherwise
you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
Remember,
it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:13-17 NLT)
Many will follow the broad
road and never trust Jesus to save them. The future is too far off in the distance
to look upon it, and today is just another day of misery in their fallen world.
Nothing appeals to them, either in the present or down the road. They just
exist.
Only the wise have secured
their eternal future by recognizing they are a sinner and asking Jesus for His
saving grace. They have everything to look forward to, and they enjoy each day
serving their Savior and Lord. They can say with the Apostle Paul, “I’m torn
between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better
for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.” (Philippians
1:23-24 NLT)
How is our spiritual vision?
Are we looking toward eternity, or are we too involved in this world to care?
The worldly man mistakenly thinks the man of God must deny all pleasure while
in the flesh to reap an everlasting life with God. If they only knew. Actually,
the man of God will enjoy this life many times more with Jesus Christ living
within him. The Godly man gets the best of both worlds, but the fool just doesn’t
see it … until it’s too late.
Following are just a few
verses, among many, that each man, woman, boy and girl need to seriously
consider:
“And
these shall go away into everlasting [aionios] punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal [aionios].” (Matthew 25:46)
If you do not have Jesus in
your life, the never-ending punishment of hell awaits you. That can be resolved
in an instant by simply recognizing that you are a sinner and need a Savior, and
asking Jesus Christ to save you.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
[aionios] life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus Christ, who is the only
begotten Son, paid with His blood the price we will never be able to pay. We
will not perish if we turn to Him, but instead, we will live forever with Him in
Heaven.
“Who shall be punished with everlasting [aionios] destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” (2 Thessalonians
1:9)
To deny Jesus is to spend eternity
apart from Him in hell.
“He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting [aionios] life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)
God is love and He is also
holy. No one can enter His presence unless they are 100% righteous. In Jesus we
can be just that, because He clothes us with HIS righteousness. He will judge
sin, but if we belong to Jesus all of our sins are paid and we will never be
condemned.
“For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal [aionios] life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
This last verse is only dark
and gloomy for those who refuse to come to Jesus and be saved. However, for
those who follow Jesus Christ, there is nothing but joy. This age is quickly
coming to an end. In just one heartbeat, we could be standing before Him. Don’t
wait.
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
