Living For The End

Read: Daniel 12

At the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you. Daniel 12:13

IN WORD

Most of us live our lives with a conscious focus. We have a vision of what we would like to be, or how we would like to live, and we pursue it. That vision can be shaped primarily by work, relationships, lifestyle, family, location, leisure, or any combination thereof. But few people live with a focus on the end of days. Few are single-minded about the inheritance to come.

That’s true not only of those unaware of the gospel, but also of those who have believed in it for a long time. We’re very conscious of the principle of Matthew 6:33—“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV)—but we easily become absorbed in the “all these things.” Our focus on eternal fruitfulness fades into the more urgent awareness of this month’s bills, or that opportunity that’s slipping away, or that home we want to buy, or . . . well, you know your list, and it probably goes on for a while. The point is that priorities are subtle in the ways they shift, and we can mistakenly think we’re focused on an eternal inheritance while we’re really driven by an immediate agenda. Unlike Daniel, we don’t have a visible angel reminding us to set our hopes on the end of days.

We do, however, have testimonies just as valid, even more so. We have God’s written Word, we have the encouragement of His Spirit within us and in the believers around us, and we have visible evidence that our bodies don’t last forever. Together, they point us to ultimate goals, the final day when God settles everything, the rewards of the Kingdom that are promised us in many, many passages. We have no reason not to lay up treasures in heaven rather than anxieties on earth.

IN DEED

Remind yourself constantly today of your true focus. Realize that your decisions are not a matter of the next few decades but of the age to come, and base your decisions on that realization. Remember that at the end of days, you’ll rise up and receive an inheritance.

ADDITIONAL READING: Matthew 6:33

Faith in God will always be crowned.

WILLIAM S. PLUMER