Don't look back...look ahead!

You reward everyone according to what they have done. ~Psalm 62:12 (NIV)

Scripture teaches God rewards us for what we have done with what we have been given here on earth.  Our time, talents and treasures are a gift from the Lord, and He expects us to use them wisely.  Every choice we make carries weight both here and for eternity.  Our entire perspective changes when we begin to live our lives in light of eternity instead of just for today.  God tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:4 “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time” (NLT).  What do you think more of?  That scripture can be very sobering, but it doesn’t have to be sad when we have Gods perspective of death.  The Lords perspective of death is that it has been defeated!  When we think about death, we can’t help but think about His resurrection because Christ’s resurrection means an eternal future for us as fully restored people living in a fully restored earth.  The Lord says He has given us a new birth into a living hope.  When the Lord says a wise person thinks a lot about death, He is not saying we should think about how we are going to die.  He is saying our thoughts about leaving this world should inspire us to think about what we are doing while we are here.  God wants us to be prudent with our time and resources and He wants us to understand that even though He has provided every good thing for our enjoyment, we shouldn’t set our sights solely on our own enjoyment. 

Studies show long-term thinking is directly related to our success in life.  Just think of how successful we would be if we concentrated on what God wanted us to be doing every day instead of what was going on around us or what our carnal nature was wanting to get in on.  We get bogged down when we look back or around.  We lose sight of the fact that God is not constrained by time…we are.  But we don’t have to stay there.  God says we have the mind of Christ.  That means we have the ability to look at our life and our future from an eternal perspective.  Just because we don’t see exactly what we want to see does not mean God has failed us.  We shouldn't let ourselves get to the place where we think we might as well create our own good time with what we can muster up.  There is a lot more at play than we will ever know this side of heaven.  We have to trust that God knows best and that He has our best interest at heart.  Our happiness should rest in living for God in every moment.  In Hebrews 11 we are told that Moses, looking ahead to his reward regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt.  Sometimes we have to get more heavenly minded to not let daily problems get the best of us.  In Luke 9:62 Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God." (NIV)  Spend the day looking ahead.  Think about the reward you will have in heaven with Jesus.  Think about the friends and family you are going to spend an eternity with.  Let your mind wonder about what a mighty God you serve who created everything you see here.  Just imagine what you will see in heaven!   We have got a lot to look forward to so don’t let your current pains and problems cause you to look back and or get you down, God’s good plan for us is eternal!

In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ~John 14:2 (KJV)

What will you set your mind on today? God’s word is a great place to start!

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