Sensing The Weight Of Eternity - Living Large in a Small World

“I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.” (Philippians 1:23-24, NLT)

Paul seemed to think he had a choice. He could go be with Christ or remain in the flesh for the sake of the Philippians and other believers.

Being with Christ would be better, for obvious reasons; leaving behind a beaten body and living in heaven is our ultimate fulfillment, the glory that far outweighs our momentary troubles (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). But we can leverage earthly opportunities for Kingdom fruitfulness only while we’re here. Paul wrote as though he was choosing between these two desires, even though he had no control over his trial.

Was this a statement of faith that whatever he chose to pray for would happen? If so, it’s a transforming picture of prayer—God giving his servants a choice in some either-or contingency in his purposes. Or was Paul simply picking which option to root for, knowing that it was out of his hands? Either way, the intersection between God’s will and ours isn’t nearly so rigidly defined as we might think. Paul’s journey was known to God but still open-ended, at least from an earthly perspective. And either way, it would work out well.

We can’t have that perspective if we cling to our own agendas. If our goal is to have a nice, convenient, comfortable life, we’ll find our circumstances working at cross-purposes with that goal much of the time. But if our goal is to glorify Jesus, behold him, serve him, and ultimately be with him, circumstances can’t stop us. We’ll always have that opportunity in any situation. Circumstances actually serve those purposes one way or another.

Re-Envision Your Vulnerability

If you see yourself as a victim of circumstances, tossed around by the waves of an unpredictable life, threatened by contradictions to your dreams and desires, you aren’t alone. You come from a long line of people struggling under the vagaries of human existence. But if you want to come out from under it all, to stand impervious to circumstantial demands, and to become invulnerable even to your own mortality, you can. It’s a matter of where you envision the weight of your life.

A present-weighted life is focused on here-and-now experiences, which may be important but are only a small picture of God’s purposes for us. An eternity-weighted life is focused on eternal fruitfulness—advancing the Kingdom in this age while anticipating its fullness forever. Whichever fills our vision—the present or eternity—will determine how vulnerable we feel. Paul’s eternal perspective reoriented his desires, magnified his hopes, minimized his fears, and led him into eternity with confidence. Ours will too.

Scripture Passages

• Philippians 1:21-24
• Romans 8:18-25
• 1 Peter 1:3-9