Living Beyond the Here and Now

Matthew 16:24-25, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting]."

These two verses put life in perspective, don't you think? Jesus was telling the disciples that if they wanted to be His disciples, they were going to have to let go of this life and cling to eternal life.

In the previous verse, Jesus rebuked Peter by saying, "Get behind me, Satan!" He had just shared with His disciples the fact that He was going to have to suffer, but Peter didn't want that to happen. Verse 22 says, "Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You!"

Peter could only see this life; he couldn't see life everlasting.

Jesus saw the big picture, though. He saw that without Him sacrificing Himself we would never be able to be saved.

As Christ followers, we are God's disciples. We are called to live for more than just this "here and now" life.

When I look at my own life, I see how, often times, I get wrapped up in my earthly life instead of focusing on eternal life. When I allow things to upset me that are only temporary, I'm focusing on my earthly life. I realize how my focus has been so wrong with me getting all upset over the acne I've had for 6 months. Truth be told, this body is only temporary, and it shouldn't be my sole focus. When I look at how big of a deal I've made wanting to get married, I see how my focus has been wrong. Marriage is definitely a blessing from God, and I believe that He will keep His promise that I will be married someday, but I can't allow that dream to be my "god". If God had that in store for me right now, I'm pretty sure He is capable of making that happen. Regardless, heaven should be much more of my priority.

We're urged so often in the Bible to live a life that is bigger than the here and now. As humans, we get priorities mixed up a lot! Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!" Our world sadly says that beauty is external, though.

The world says to do whatever you have to in order to get to the top. God says to humble yourself so He can exalt you. (See 1 Peter 5:6).

The world says to do as little as you have to while still being able to get away with it. God says that we need to do all that we do as unto Him. (See Colossians 3:23).

It doesn't take long to see that the world's standards don't line up with God's standards.

If we want to be true Christ followers, we must deny ourselves and follow God. The question is, who are we going to choose to follow?

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today You've revealed to me how I've allowed my priorities to drift off of what they should be. I've been trying to figure out my earthly life when all You've wanted me to do is to focus on You and Your kingdom. Lord, help me keep my focus on something bigger than the temporary. Help me have my focus set on eternity, not on the here and now.

In Jesus' Name.

Amen.