12-9-17 The First 15

December 9 Vision for Eternity

Weekly Overview: We serve a God of boundaries. In his limitless capacity, endless creativity, and boundless existence he still chose to create boundaries. He still had vision for what was good, right, pleasing, and perfect. And as children made in his image, we are to live, think, and create as he does. In a world marked by busyness from seemingly infinite opportunities, it’s important now more than ever for us to create boundaries. May you find freedom and joy this week as you receive vision and set boundaries under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Worship Be Thou My Vision | Audrey Assad

To be a true person of vision is to live this life in light of eternity. Without a real revelation of eternity, this life will be marked by hopelessness and a sense of aimless wandering. Only when our destination comes into view can we rightly see the circumstances strewn along the journey of this life. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” To look to eternity requires us to trust. Our minds are finite. In the only world we’ve ever known, life is marked by a beginning and end, by birth and death. But in Scripture we discover that God is the Maker of life and the Conquerer of death. We discover that in Jesus we are promised eternal life in unhindered, unveiled communion with our Creator. To live with vision for eternity is to trust that things are not as they will be and to surrender the entirety of this life with hope for the next. When we live seeking satisfaction from the things of the world, we live as if heaven didn’t exist and God didn’t usher in his kingdom through Jesus. The things of this world only have value in the Giver of all good gifts. So our possessions, relationships, and work only have value here because they are a shadow of what is to come when all things are made new. Having vision for eternity should lead us to create boundaries around everything in this life. It should lead us to a lifestyle of surrender that our hearts might never become tied to that which is fleeting and can never fully satisfy. It should lead us to a lifestyle of fully enjoying the things God has given us, all the while knowing the things of this life are merely a shadow in comparison to what is to come. Do you feel tied to the things of your life today? Do you feel as if your possessions, relationships, and work owns you rather than you enjoying them to the glory of God? Are you seeking to find total satisfaction in the things of the world, or are you finding peace in the hope of heaven? Take time today in guided prayer to surrender your life again to Jesus. Allow God to cut away any ties you have to that which is chaining your heart to this world. And find abundant joy and peace in the freedom that comes from living in light of eternity.

1. Meditate on what the Bible says about eternity. Allow Scripture to fill you with vision for what’s to come. “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.”  Psalm 102:25-27 “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”  John 14:2-3 2. Are you living in light of eternity? Do you feel your heart tied down to any things of the world? “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15 3. Set boundaries around having vision for eternity. Lay down anything holding you back from living in freedom from this world at the feet of Jesus. Take time to enjoy God that the foundation of your life would be communion with him. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

In Acts 2:44-47 we see the power of believers who live in authentic community. Scripture says, And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.   When God’s people gather together and do life in his name, he is there (Matthew 18:20). Seek to develop community that is both fun and representative of the kingdom. Look for others whom you can bring into the community that God’s given you. Dwelling in unity with your fellow believers is both a powerful picture of God’s heart and a public declaration of his reality and will. May God pour out his Spirit in mighty and powerful ways as you seek to live in God-honoring community. Extended Reading: Acts 2