Eyes on eternity
Some years ago my wife and I were involved with some maintenance to our house which was tenanted at the time while we were living in another region. In particular, the bathroom and toilet needed work. It turned out that underneath the vinyl, the floor was not well fitted around the base of the toilet. A metal plate had been fitted around it but that had rusted away. The plumber who was doing the work resolved to fit a new piece of galvanized sheet to make a seal around the base.
On being shown the problem and the proposed solution, my first thought was, that looks similar to what failed before. Isn’t there some better material to use than thin, galvanised metal? I questioned the plumber on it and he looked at me and said, ‘It’ll see us out’. In other words – why would you worry about something that won’t be a problem within the course of your natural life? Or perhaps, until such time as you are elderly and retired and no one would bother to chase you over such an issue which by then would have lasted many years before failing, as the previous item did. Which amounts to the same thing – it will last long enough to cause you no problems.
I didn’t find an adequate response for the plumber. The moment passed, and I simply held my peace. Perhaps I should have pursued the issue – but where do you start when a person’s whole view of life and the world is different to your own? Nothing I said would have made any sense to someone living in a simple, natural sense, within the bounds of their mortal life. To say that God is watching how we repair the plate around the base of the toilet would have seemed pompous and rather extreme. And if this life was all we had (which is not what I believe) it would be almost unappreciative of life, inappropriate even, to ‘sweat the small stuff’?
(And maybe as Christians we should not ‘sweat the small stuff’ either, but for different reasons, and what if anything is ‘small’ may also be different in many cases.)
Paul writes about such views as follows.
‘If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die.’ (1 Corinthians 15:32)
‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.’ (1 Corinthians 15:19)
Paul saw clearly that faith in Christ is not a recipe for making the most of this life, for this lifetime only.
I have seen a couple of news articles recently about people diagnosed with terminal illness going on holidays or adventures and making the most of the time they have left. The phrase ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) is a saying of our time, but how must that fear be amplified for those whose time is suddenly and unexpectedly found to be nearly over.
Seeing life end unexpectedly for others brings into focus what is true for all of us – our time in this life is short. We all, in that sense, have a terminal diagnosis. And as for those who do not believe, so for those of us who do believe it is important we use our time wisely, though what we attempt to do may be very different than it would be if this life was all we hope for.
There are so many questions that are difficult to answer in ways commonly viewed as good when seen from our own, worldly, and temporal perspective.
How much should I give to meet the needs of others – to help them in their lives – if this is the only, brief life I myself have to experience and to make the most of? Should I question why I have more than others if I do not know even why I have life, and if those others would gladly have what I have and would not hesitate to do what I wish to do with it myself? Why should I persevere in a relationship which is difficult and seems unlikely to improve if I have only a few, brief years to experience relationships, and potentially, love? Why should I labour in unrewarding employment to clothe and house and feed members of my family so that they can do likewise as they come of age themselves to be able to do it? Or why should I do work of a standard to last 20, 30, 40 years when in as little as ten years’ time, if I am still alive, no one will chase me over the work I do today? What is my good name worth to me after I’m dead?
It seems to me that effort is focused more and more in our world on maximising our mortal experience. Being ‘unnecessarily picky’ over ethical matters, or ‘unnecessarily stringent’ with standards of work and practice is viewed as tedious, robbing people of their effective pursuit of worldly (and brief) happiness.
Without God, and the prospect of eternity, life doesn’t stack up, and the world is waking up to it.
Jesus, by the most profound, liberating, and challenging truth, sets us free from the FOMO treadmill of worldly fulfilment and maximization. Quite literally there is nothing at all anyone who follows Jesus can ever miss out on.
‘And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.’ (Matthew 19:16-30)
One thing I find striking about the story above is that it was not an unbeliever who failed to take the opportunity to follow Jesus. The man came to Jesus for instruction; he was a believer. Furthermore, it seems he had lived his life in a way which certainly was not given only to worldly pleasures or concerns. He was a devoutly religious man (‘all these things have I kept from my youth up’) and no doubt had given up many chances to ‘make the most of this life’ for the sake of religious duty. But his religion – and his faith in Jesus – sat alongside a solid attachment to worldly possessions. These differing priorities were not compatible; Jesus put his finger squarely on the problem. The man was torn, and was unable to follow Jesus simply and wholeheartedly at that moment.
(To put the above story in perspective, I am not suggesting that we all should sell everything we have at the first opportunity and live a life for our Lord of spiritual pursuits only. But the man in this case was face to face with Jesus the Son of God, in the flesh, and received from him a direct invitation. In the history of the world there are only a handful of people who ever had such an opportunity; it required a complete response.)
Paul, likewise, saw that the benefits to be had in this life were not compatible with a wholehearted faith in Jesus. Ultimately his faith and his commitments to the Lord would cost him everything. For which reason he said, ‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.’ (1 Corinthians 15:19)
Yet the man who came to Jesus was indeed looking for eternal life; he was not looking only for a better life now. But what Jesus showed him was that laying down this life is the very means by which we take hold on the wonderful, eternal life Jesus gives us. And that is how it was for Jesus also; he experienced no pleasure or benefit in this life but that he should lay it down in sacrifice at the cross. And he did so not with regret, but ‘for the joy set before him’. (Hebrews 12:2)
Jesus goes on to lay out this path in specific terms – houses laid down shall be rewarded with houses, land for land, family for family, children for children. There is literally nothing in this life that God cannot make ours for all eternity. And from the way Jesus speaks about these things, it seems to me it is not wrong to think about it. Rather, it is okay to use this knowledge to encourage ourselves in the hard choices of life.
‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.’ (Romans 8:18)
In particular when it comes to those we love, we see that Job, who received already in this life double of all that Satan took from him in his ordeal of suffering, yet received only the same number of children as he had lost. Whereby God gave him a sign that those same children he lost were not lost – they would still be his – but he had more children besides. (Job 1:2-3; 42:12-13)
‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’ (Matthew 16:25)
Let us rejoice in the freedom of knowing there is nothing we can lose in this life for Jesus’ sake that we can ever miss out on. Rather, it is laid up with our Lord for eternity.
Praise to our Lord for ever and ever. Amen.
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