Devotional Time with God

If the only thing that is going to last for eternity is your relationship to God, what are the implications for your values, your priorities, your possessions, and your schedule?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 48

Yantie and I don’t travel very much. There’s a subconscious reason for it: we love our home! We like how we can do anything in our home. We like how comfortable our home is. We like that we have everything in our home. Every time we went on a vacation, after a while it felt uncomfortable being away from home.

This is what living on earth must feel like. We have so many issues here. Why can’t everyone get along? Why disaster happens? How come I feel I never have enough in this world? It must be because this is not where I’m suppose to be. God put me here temporarily. He wants me to learn and grow up here. I have to prepare myself to go home to heaven.

I didn’t have my US Permanent Resident card until 2004. I was here since 1997. Between that time, I had my doubts if I could stay here for the rest of my life. What was I suppose to do with my house? What was I suppose to do with my 401k? Where else could I go? Should I bother to do anything now? What about my plans to set “roots” in this country? All of those questions are the same ones that I have to ask about living on this earth. My eventual home is heaven, I must not be too bothered with the stuff that I accumulated in this world. I have enough to survive because God will always provide while I’m here. I have to believe that my daughter will grow up strong and healthy, and able to take care of herself. Life here is not a race for me to win. Life here is building a relationship with God, and preparing to become a permanent resident in heaven.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

The Purpose Driven Life, p. 40

There two things certain on this earth: taxes and death. There is nothing I can do to avoid them. But there is something I can do with the life that I have now. God put me here to lead others to Christ, to love one another, and to continually worship Him. I don’t have to stress over petty things, such as caring too much about my retirement money, or whether I’ll ever visit Australia. The eternal life in heaven has to be the focus of my life, as I prepare for it on earth. In Philippians 3:7 (NLT), Paul said:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

Jesus has shown the way to live on this earth, so I may copy His wonderful life. Jesus has died for me, so I may live forever in heaven. I just have to follow Jesus! That’s what I’ll do.