In preparing to teach the last two studies in our foundations series I called “The Essentials”, I’m struck again in how much an eternal perspective affects us now. These last two messages are on the subjects “Resurrection from the Dead” and “Eternal Judgment”. Now, these are staple, time honored Christian doctrines, emphasized heavily though out church history, except in recent history. I myself came late to this party, as in my early years as a Christian, it seemed to me as a fiery young evangelist and teacher, that churches emphasized the ‘sweet by and by’ to create some sort of ‘escape theology’, totally checking out of engaging the modern culture and making any attempt to be relevant or even evangelistic. Actually, some of this was true. And much of the church has made great strides in becoming relevant and reaching large numbers of people. But, the church today has paid a great price by minimizing the issue of eternity.
Endurance and Fear
One of the great principles of planning successful people use today is the concept of ‘start at the end and work backwards’. (Can anyone say, “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”?) In other words, see where you want to end up, and start now to take steps to get there. Do you want to have a successful career? What kind of training, education do you need? Years are involved in this. It takes endurance and delayed gratification. I’ve seen young resident doctors work 18 hour days for poverty wages to become a certified physician. Their goal gives them endurance, much like an Olympic athlete training for the gold. Yet many of today’s “Christians” won’t go through months or even weeks of marriage counseling to save their marriage. They won’t share their faith or confront someone headed for destruction for fear of persecution (which in our culture means not being liked by everyone). We have no theology of suffering or endurance. If we go through something more than a week, we think we deserve to be written in the book of Job. Only an eternal perspective can change this. We lost our daughter eight years ago, and it is only the knowledge that she is in heaven and we will embrace her again that keeps us going at times. Temporary setbacks, being misunderstood (the ultimate trial!) or even slandered, wrestling with discouragement and doubt, and things like that have truly become, as Paul said, “light affliction, which is but for a moment” because it is “working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).
