By David J. Stewart
February 2013
Colossians 3:1-2, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
God did not create anyone for time. God created us for eternity. God's goal
for us is not time, but eternity. I believe that the Apostle Paul was very,
very much aware of eternity when he made his decisions. Jesus said we are to
set our affections on things above, and not to lay up for ourselves
treasures on earth. God was telling us to make our major investments in
eternity. And, like Jesus, may each of us be able to say at the end of our
lives, “I have finished the work that You gave me to do.”
It may be that God will send you to sow. It may be those who follow you who reap; and in Heaven, you will rejoice together. You and I are in a bigger picture than just our ministries. We're in God's Kingdom. It is not our ministries, but His Kingdom that is coming. Jesus did not pray, “My ministry come.” He prayed, “Thy Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Hebrews 12:1,2 says that, since we are part of a much bigger picture, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which can so easily trap us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our faith.
You may wonder how Jesus was able to remain true to His assignment, when He knew it was a cross. Jesus was not looking to the cross. He was looking to the joy that was set before Him. Jesus looked beyond circumstances. For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame and the pain, and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God the Father. Jesus lived with an eye to eternity. Jesus knew that, above all else, He was to serve the Father. Jesus knew the Father had sent Him, not for time, but for eternity.
