He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Our world abounds with promises of an abundant life, a long life, or great satisfaction and fulfillment. People pursue the things they believe will bring happiness or add meaning to their lives. No one wants to live a life that is boring, hopeless or unfulfilling. No one likes to wait for something they want, even if it is a beautiful wait full of good things along the way. The waiting time tends to reveal blessings as it passes but we can’t see that in the beginning. We often don’t wait with patience and contentment.
Some people pursue a dream of a good retirement. They are willing to do the hard work early in life in the hope of enjoying life later. Others can’t wait that long. They have a desire to have the ideal life right now and seek the right house, the right career, the right partner … the right everything. The truth is, most of us spend at least some of our time and energy trying to bring hope, satisfaction and happiness into our present lives. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We were created with a desire for a perfect life in eternity. The verse above tells us that eternity (with all its pleasures) is still in our hearts even though we live in a sinful world.
Hope Fulfilled … Or Not
Proverbs 13: 12 says:
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
No one wants a sick heart. No one wants to hope for something that never materializes. That’s why waiting for eternity is so hard for Christians. It’s not that it will never happen, but millions have spent their whole lives longing for eternity and have died still waiting. It is not something we can count on in our lifetimes on this earth. Our hope is always in the future, even if we are able to make it a beautiful wait.
Our Time on Earth Can Be a Beautiful Wait
But God has a purpose for this gap between the promise of a future in eternity and its fulfillment. He uses it to shape how we live our lives on this earth. He wants us to live with reference to our future destiny. When we don’t have a goal in front of us, our lives tend to be aimless. But when we have hope for the future, we live accordingly. We are disciplined where we might otherwise be lazy. We are focused instead of aimless. We become battle-ready soldiers instead of couch potatoes and we are alert and listening for what God might call us to do next. These things help to make us fit to receive the promised blessing. Our longing for the blessing makes us ready to accept it when it comes. It turns our time on earth into a beautiful wait.
Paul tells us of the ultimate blessed hope.
“looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”
Titus 2:13
Living With One Eye on Eternity
Living with this glorious hope in our hearts shapes how we live today. It gives us a reason to say no to ungodliness and to choose to live in uprightness. It also helps us to deal with the wait for eternity. Keeping our eyes on the goal will help our feet to find the right path. And as we keep busy living for our Lord, we will find fulfillment and satisfaction in the right places as we wait for our ultimate hope. These treasures turn the time into a beautiful wait.
When waiting for eternity seems like an eternal wait, it might be time to check our focus. Maintaining our focus on the prize will enable us to be content with the lives we live as we wait. Losing focus will lead us down wrong paths or we might become discouraged or give up altogether. Receiving the Holy Spirit on a daily basis will enable us to maintain focus and wait well.