Rick Warren Quote - 5 Reasons Why Eternity Matters

“At most, you will live a hundred years on earth, but you will spend forever in eternity.”

– Rick Warren

Devotional: 5 Reasons Why Eternity Matters

When you think about it, we’re just in a dress rehearsal. This is just an opening act and the real concert is about to begin. Eternity is where the action is. Unfortunately, too many people, Christians included, live like it’s the other way around.

They basically put all their focus, energy and attention to the here and now. That’s like prizing the appetizer more than the real meal. You have to focus on what’s important. What is important is not in front of you, it’s what is about to come. How important is it? We’re talking about infinity. Your choices now impact whether you will share in that infinity or not. That’s how important eternity is. That’s how important it is for Christians to reflect God’s love in their lives and to live in faith so that through God’s grace, they can achieve eternal salvation. Here are the five reasons why eternity matters:

The ultimate sense of completion

Eternity is not just time. It’s not just being in a place where time goes on and on. It’s also about a sense of completion. A sense that there is nothing missing or inadequate. Imagine back to the first time you fell in love; imagine the first time you had a deep fulfilling relationship. It felt great, right? It felt like you were complete.

Now multiply that by a billion times. That’s the sense of completion eternity has. Why? When you are spending an eternity with God, you basically become reunited with the prime mover of the universe. You become reunited with the main reason for everything existing. All conception of self, otherness, and property all goes away. Instead you feel truly and deeply complete. In fact, the mind just melts at this concept and this level of completion.

The ultimate sense of being

The sense of being that you get with eternity is connected with God’s sense of being. In other words, you get plugged into this massive force that encompasses and contains not just this world, not just this galaxy, but this whole universe. Again, words just really fail how to summarize that sense of being. If you think that you feel self-aware; if you think that you have a healthy sense of ego and that you’re comfortable in your skin, that’s nothing compared to the sense of being of eternity spent with Jesus Christ.

Giving all glory to God

Eternity matters because it reminds us that life and existence has nothing to do with us. We may feel it or experience it, but really the whole point of existence is God’s character. We were put on this earth to give glory to God and reveal His character. His love for us, His plan of salvation, and His relationship to us, all lead to God’s character.

Giving all honor to God

If you really strip away your ego and what other people may have told you and your misconceptions about God, you would realize that you only have one job. God has really put you on earth for one purpose. That is to give glory and honor to Him. You give Him honor when you choose to forgive others that hurt you. You give Him honor when you choose to respond to situations not by reacting with revenge or with your fleshly desires but with your highest values. You give him honor when you reflect Jesus’ love in your life; not just to people who love you back but to people who hate you. That’s our job and when we spend an eternity with Christ, we are going to be spending an eternity giving honor to him and we will do it gladly and happily because we’ve become united with the one reason for everything.

Back home for good

Have you ever taken a long vacation or worked overseas for several years? I know the feeling. You get homesick and you miss the warm hugs, the warm smiles, and kisses of your loved ones. You miss being there with them when they’re going through tough times and them being with you when you’re going through challenges. Well, imagine that feeling. The feeling when you come home to the airport and there are your loved ones with their outstretched arms, happy to see you back.

Now, imagine that feeling but multiply that by an infinite power. That is the emotion that you would get when you wake up and you see yourself with other brothers and sisters spending an eternity with Jesus. Imagine that being in a room with God the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Jesus lovingly showing us the marks on His hands. Jesus raining kisses upon us. I don’t think there would be a dry eye in the room because of the tears of joy would flow like a river. That’s the homecoming that we have in eternity.