Eternity...

I'm sitting on a whole slew of photographs I've taken in the last week or so. Parades, picnics, and holiday celebrations. As I sit down at my computer ready to upload, edit and post- I've instead found myself sitting here staring at the white space- realizing that, at this moment- I'd rather type my thoughts than post pictures of my kids eating hot dogs. At this moment, I'm feeling that there are more important things I'd rather use my "white space" for.

I've been doing so much thinking about eternity lately. Please don't click away. I'm not being Debbie Downer... I promise. It's just that there have been so many things lately that have brought me a to a place of contemplation - true reflection about where we are right now, on this earth, and where we will someday be... in eternity.

A very dear friend of mine (my old High School sweetheart, if you must know), is losing his older brother to cancer. And by "older" I mean only that he's older than my friend. In reality- he is losing his very young brother... a mere 36 years old. Try as a might, I am unable to comprehend what that must feel like for my friend to have to say goodbye to his brother. Sadly, his brother lives 1700 miles away and when my friend last visited him, he knew that this time his "goodbye" and their embrace would be their last.

Which leads us to the point- right here - (in my white space)- that might be just too depressing to continue on.

Except that, it's not. It doesn't have to be.

In no way am I trivializing the pain and sadness that his family is going through. Instead of offering a mere "you're in my thoughts and prayers" I've tried my best to share, specifically, what exactly my thoughts and prayers are right now for this family. I continue to pray for encouragement to get through these painful last days. For Peace. I try to encourage by reminding my friend the promise that "No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Cor 2:9) - and that soon, his brother will be free.

And if that has not been enough to get me thinking of eternity lately, I've been also having long, interesting, thought provoking discussions with my dear girlfriend regarding differing ideas of theology and God and salvation. Our discussions have challenged me to look inside the very core of my beliefs and what it is, exactly, I believe- and why, in fact, it all matters. SO much.

It matters, friends, because - we're going down. Every single one of us. Maybe too young from an unfair illness. Maybe too early from a tragic accident. Maybe at the very end of 89 long beautiful years. Regardless, we're going down. Like I recently heard a passionate Godly man say in an interview- it's like the earth is the Titanic... before it's sunk. And you know it's going to sink. You want to scream and shout to the people - "GRAB A LIFE VEST! JUMP IN A RAFT! IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED!" And yet, the Titanic hasn't sunk quite yet. So people continue on. They dance, they mingle, they go about their journey without a care in the world.

So what if there were a few of us who KNEW, before hand, the boat was going down? We paraded up and down the corridors shouting warnings, jumping up and down, begging people to jump in the rafts, imploring people to find a way to get saved. I'm pretty sure that people would look at us like nut jobs. And they'd continue to mingle. and dance. and go about their journey. doing things their own way.

And so it is with life.

And so it is with this earth.

And so it WILL be that, one day, this world is going down.
And maybe even be sooner for someone I know and love.

And so I have to ask myself- did I warn them? Did I tell them? Did I encourage them with the GOOD news that they don't have to sink? That they can jump in the raft and be saved? SAVED! AND LIVE! But they first must believe that the boat is, indeed, going to sink and admit that without the raft they cannot save themselves.

Am I trivializing this? I don't want to. I would never, ever, want to trivialize the gift of eternal life.

Because of the events I've stated above, I have thought so much about it lately. I have thought about eternal life. About heaven. About what it means to be saved. About how, it is, we actually become saved.

Can we save ourselves? No!
There is nothing we can do. Not enough "good deeds" in the world that could ever be "enough" to earn us entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Not one of us is "deserving" - not one. (Romans 3:23)

As sad as this is for me to know, there is no truth in the belief that "good people go to heaven."
Good people - who believe in JESUS Christ as their Lord and their Savior- go to heaven.
And, guess what, even bad people- who believe in JESUS Christ as their Lord and Savior- go to heaven.

But "good people" - who don't believe in and rely on Jesus- will not go to heaven.

Because it's not about being good. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
It's not about being bad.
It's about Jesus.

Jesus.

JESUS.

JESUS!

He's IT!
And he's EVERYTHING.

It's not enough to believe in "something." Something will not save you. (John 14:6)

This life is short. Sometimes, for some people, way too short. But though our life on earth may be short, it is not hopeless. It is FULL of hope in the promise of eternal life, through Christ.

I want to be there! And I live my life on earth FULL of HOPE and JOY because I rest in certainty that I WILL be there. But I want, so badly, for the people I've shared my life on earth with, to be also with me in heaven.

And, perhaps, the very best part of my post comes at the end. Right now.

The good news- the BEST news- is this...

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” - Rom 10:9

Jesus life was relevant.
And his death was EVERYTHING.
It is the purpose, and the point, and the reason for the HOPE we have in this life. And the next.

There is no one- the whole world over- whom he doesn't desire to save.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. —John 3:16-17

But it's up to US to listen. To open our ears. To believe the truth that this ship is sinking and we can't save ourselves. And to jump - FEET FIRST!- into the boat.

He's the boat. And He's the only one who can save us.

If you are reading this and you want to know more, please check out this link from Billy Graham's website - http://www.billygraham.org/specialsections/steps-to-peace/steps-to-peace.asp.

Eternity is coming for every single one of us.
And we've been given this life -and maybe this moment- to choose where we'll spend it.