“Living with eternity in mind will infuse us with a joy and purpose that can sustain us in daily life, even as we face hard things.” ~ Randy Alcorn
What do a sore infected area on my pointer finger and an eternal perspective have in common?
I’ll tell you.
For over a week now, I had a small area on my pointer finger next to the fingernail that became increasingly sore until finally, yesterday, it came to the point where I couldn’t even touch it lightly without crying out. I couldn’t use it. The area was puffed up, hard, and red.
Not wanting to sit in a doctor’s office for hours concerning such a small thing, I asked “the woodworker” (my husband—not a doctor, mind you) to bring home his eyepiece magnifier.
With a needle that had been dipped in alcohol and an ice pack anesthesia applied before the “surgery,” he poked, lanced and squeezed the area until a tiny foreign object came out, along with infection fluid. I won’t elaborate any more than that.
Gloriously, after the pressure had been relieved, the finger was immediately only mildly sore.
The important phrase in that sentence is “after the pressure had been relieved.”
This life has a lot of pressure. A lot.
And it builds up until we sometimes feel we can hardly take it anymore.
We want, we NEED, relief.
I have found that, for me, a lot of pressure is released when I get my mind and thoughts on “things above.”
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2
And the same scripture from The Message Bible:
“Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
{ Oh my goodness, what a great translation. I love to cross-reference scriptures with The Message. }
When I remind myself that this life on earth is only temporary…
That heaven is my final destination…
And that God is walking with me on that road to heaven….
It’s pretty much instant relief from the pressure—just like my woodworker-husband-turned-surgeon’s lancing of my infected finger.
And, yes, it’s true that some residual soreness remains… but it isn’t as bad.
That’s precisely how I feel when I get my mind and things above and I see my day’s activities in light of eternity.
{ It really does change my perspective and I find that the day goes better. }
And if we position every single day in that place of “eternal magnification”—making eternity bigger than the cares and pressures of this world–we will function more free and lightly.
And that’s what Jesus wants for us:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 28:28-30
IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT: Another important { did someone already use that word?? } aspect of having an eternal perspective is that things that aren’t important fall away. We get our priorities properly ordered. That means less things on our to-do or “worry” lists…and less pressure.
Music interlude—a song to minister and heal:
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”
O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free:
[Chorus:]
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace… Helen Howarth Lemmel.
If you would like to hear a beautiful version—REALLY BEAUTIFUL—of this song, click on the arrow below.
(Best listened to with eyes closed.)
Because our understanding is earthbound…human to the core…limited…finite…we operate in a dimension totally unlike our Lord…who knows no such limitations. We see now. He sees forever. ~ Chuck Swindoll
This next song has an ethereal quality that, for me, helps me imagine the end of life and knowing that there are those who have passed over who will come to meet me. It is from the movie, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books.
Into the West ~ Annie Lennox
The next song is one I have asked to be played at my “celebration of life”.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
What Is The Point? ~ Misty Edwards
One Month To Live ~ Kerry Shook
To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story ~ Dr. Mary C. Neal
7 Lessons from Heaven: How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life ~ Dr. Mary C. Neal
All Things New: Heaven, Earth, and the Restoration of Everything You Love ~ John Eldredge
LINK: THRIVE