Summer 1981
Eternal Things
Bill Worth
Pinecrest Graduate

God has given His people the gift of eternal life, which has been made possible by the death of His Son on the cross. This eternal life which is ours through grace is often taken for granted by Christians, often misunderstood by the world. However, when one examines the nature of eternal life at close range, his appreciation of its magnitude begins to broaden.

C.S. Lewis stated that children of Israel were schooled in a school of obedience which knew no hope of a resurrection. Its only promise lay in fulfilling God’s will in this present lifetime; if a man kept the commandments then he would have a happy and fruitful life on earth. Nothing much is said in the Pentateuch about life after death. The issue is hinted at in many places buy seldom dealt with directly. Perhaps at the beginning of his ministry Moses knew little or nothing about a life beyond the grave, but by the time the children of Israel were on the threshold of Canaan, we can be certain that he was hoping for something of this nature. He was trusting for something better, because he asked God for an end to the seemingly endless cycle of things as men on earth know them. In the only psalm written by Moses which has come down to us, he asked God to reveal his “word”—(redemption) to his servants of the present day, and he asked that God’s “glory”—(Christ) would appear to their children. And he also asked God to “establish . . . the work of our hands . . .” (Psalm 90:16-17).

Moses was looking for a release from living a life which seemingly had little purpose; he was searching for a life which was bound up in God’s purpose. He desired something which had eternal substance to it, life with an eternal quality about it, built to last forever. He was searching for life which was strong enough to endure the grave, the kind of life God Himself had. For 40 years Moses had led the nation of Israel through the wilderness—had dealt with all their rebellions, interceded on their behalf on numerous occasions, and rejoiced in their triumphs. He had received the law from God himself, had tremendous revelation, and at the end of it all he was told by God that after Israel had entered Canaan, they would soon forget everything they had been called to. They had no heart to keep His commandments. Thus, Moses was reaching for something beyond, a quality of life that superseded what he himself had to deal with at the present moment. The children of Israel appeared to wander about in a disgruntled, rebellious state; at best their recognition of their purpose was dim. In asking God to “establish the work of our hands,” Moses was saying that he wanted life to have real purpose with its aims and end eternal.

Many people today are under the impression that it is foolishness to prepare for eternity, that men who are preoccupied with heaven and eternal things are “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” On the contrary, the treasures that one lays up in heaven can be seen here on earth; they are not something which only awaits a person as his reward in heaven. The man who is rich toward God will have these eternal qualities working in practical ways here on earth, in this lifetime: “. . . love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance . . .” (Galatians 5:22-23). True spiritual quality colors a person’s life in such a way that those around him are affected by its glow. The love exhibited in the everyday kindnesses a Christian does, the simple sacrifices one does daily, as well as those performed under extreme circumstances, have an eternal quality about them. They make life worth living here on earth and God counts them as treasures laid up in heaven. They are the sort of things which make a man rich toward God, things which have their source with the Father in heaven and remain with Him. They are a link between us on earth and our source of life in heaven, an evidence of a transaction which has taken place unseen by the world.

Though we be veiled in human flesh, which grows older and eventually ends in decay, we have a quality of life which lasts forever. God has determined that man have an eternal destiny, and that his life should have an eternal quality underlying and motivating it.

These eternal qualities have been made available through our Lord Jesus Christ, and are ours as we enter into His life, which is eternal.