Seeing Life Through Eternity: Changing Your Perspective

The direction you are facing is the direction you will travel. This is true if you are walking, cycling, or driving. It is also true in life.

We will be concerned about and prioritize life based upon where our focus is, whether on this earth or on eternity.

Earthly Focus

It is very easy to focus on the things of this earth. It is where we are, our every day life, our routine. These things often tend to weigh us down and cause stress and anxiety.

Our days can be filled with worry and concern:

• The cycle of monthly bills is overwhelming.
• Health struggles are getting more challenging.
• The to-do list is growing faster than I can check things off!
• That relationship doesn’t seem like it will ever be repaired.

When we keep our focus solely on temporal things, we forget the blessings God has given us and the way He has provided and cared for us throughout life.

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Eternal Focus

Keeping an eternal focus is challenging. We know in our minds that we will live for eternity, but we often fail to prioritize our lives like this is true.

In Matthew 6, Christ reminds us,

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

He then encourages us that we do not need to be anxious about our lives or our provisions:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

God will provide our needs. We do not need to be consumed by anxiety over the things that often dominate our thoughts.

When we place our time and attention on what counts for eternity, it changes the way we view the temporary struggles of health, finances, responsibilities, and even our relationships.

A Shift in Priority

How do we live with an eternal perspective?

Colossians 3 answers this.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Paul then explains what that looks like in practice:

• Compassion
• Kindness
• Humility
• Patience
• Forgiveness
• Love

Along with:

• Letting Christ’s peace rule in our hearts.
• Living with thankfulness.
• Letting God’s Word shape our thinking.
• Doing everything in the name of the Lord.

An eternal focus isn’t abstract. It shows up in how we live and how we treat others.

Living it Out

Seek God’s knowledge and wisdom to know what is eternal.

Invest in relationships: reconcile when possible, serve others, and spend time with those around you.

Live obediently to what God has clearly taught in Scripture, and use His wisdom in areas where He allows more freedom.

Having eternal priorities doesn’t mean ignoring life. You still walk through the different challenges and receive blessings. It means you see everything through a different lens.

You don’t need a different life or different circumstances.

You need a different perspective.

Because of the resurrection, eternity is not distant. It is already shaping how we live today.