On a high quality Sunday afternoon, a pair from church invited me and a few fellow music ministry members to their home. We had a good time collectively, sharing a meal, enjoying board video games, and having nice dialog. Later, a missionary household joined us, and we praised the Lord in music for about an hour. It was such a candy time of fellowship.
Later that night, I got here house to complete packing earlier than leaving for a visit to Korea (the place I’m from). As I entered my condominium, a query flashed throughout my thoughts: “The place is my house?” (What a well timed query!) This query introduced a wave of feelings that had been exhausting to clarify. I had felt this manner a couple of occasions earlier than, particularly after having an prolonged, heartfelt fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ.
Eager for Eternity
I made a decision to name this emotion eager for eternity (“영원을 향한 갈망,” young-one ul hyang-han gal-mang in Korean). Possibly I’m over-spiritualizing my expertise, however I believe that each one individuals—each Christians and non-Christians—have felt related feelings. It’s because all of us share one thing deep inside the core of our humanity: we’re beings created within the picture and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27).
One definitive function of this expertise is that it accompanies an amazing sense of pointing-towardness: it factors me towards one thing, somebody, and someplace. Let me unpack what I imply. When it comes to one thing, eager for eternity builds my urge for food for the worship of our Lord and fellowship in Him. When it comes to somebody, it cultivates my love for Christ Himself and His avid followers. When it comes to someplace, it dazzles my eyes with the sensible imaginative and prescient of 1 place: the dominion of God’s beloved Son, the place I’ll rejoice in one thing with somebody for eternity.
On this sense, the expertise of “eager for eternity” isn’t merely (or not primarily) in regards to the length of time; quite, it’s a elementary eagerness, an infinite seek for the final word exercise we wish to pursue, the dearest individuals we wish to encompass ourselves with, and probably the most peaceable place we wish to dwell endlessly. Maybe my Sunday afternoon was an appetizer of the primary course but to come back, a shadow of an precise object, and a typological expertise that factors me to the archetype—the final expertise.
Many Scripture passages describe the splendor of this someplace that the eager for eternity factors us towards: It’s the place our Lord prepares many rooms for us (John 14:1-4) and our citizenship belongs (Phil. 3:20-21). It’s a paradise (Luke 23:43) with boundless inexperienced pastures and nonetheless waters for us to eat, relaxation, and rejoice (Ps. 23:1-2). Above all, it’s the place we’ll see our Creator nose to nose (1 Cor. 13:12) and all our tears will probably be wiped away by Him (Rev. 21:4). Foreseeing the wonder and surprise of this superb someplace, our ancestors of religion “confessed that they had been foreigners and non permanent residents on the earth” (Heb. 11:13b, CSB).
Implications for Our Communities and Ministries
What does this eager for eternity should do with our counseling ministry? Right here is my easy reply: our group and all our ministries should try to domesticate our individuals’s eager for eternity by stimulating their religious, heavenward tastebuds. Every group and ministry can creatively promote flavors of the divine someplace by actively involving one thing joyful and zealously calling a wandering somebody.
When rightly utilized, this precept of eager for eternity will seriously change our apply of preaching, singing, praying, educating, fellowshipping, and one-anothering. For instance, in counseling, we may also help our counselees perceive their life story in mild of God’s grand story to allow them to actively reinterpret it and stay it out to please and glorify the Lord. Briefly, we must always endeavor to always renew and re-form our group and ministries based mostly on this eager for eternity.
“So what?” This renewal of group and ministry—knowledgeable and saturated by eager for eternity—could sound summary. Nonetheless, this renewal and reformation is a God-ordained alternative for us to make use of God-given creativity in our software of Scripture to minister to God-entrusted congregants. One instance is Psalm 131, which I’ve preached and endorsed many occasions:
Lord, my coronary heart isn’t proud;
my eyes usually are not haughty.
I don’t become involved with issues
too nice or too wondrous for me.
As an alternative, I’ve calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned baby with its mom;
my soul is sort of a weaned baby.
Israel, put your hope within the Lord,
each now and endlessly.
As a track of ascents, this psalm footage how our journey of religion needs to be as we proceed the pilgrimage of our lives simply because the “ascents” climbed as much as Jerusalem and the temple in it on a excessive hill. Contemplating that “a brand new heaven and a brand new earth” can also be referred to as the holy metropolis, “the brand new Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:1-2), our march towards heaven—the wonderful eternity portrayed by one thing, somebody, and someplace—should seem like David’s march pictured in Psalm 131 superbly: taking child steps of religion.
As an alternative of attempting to attain issues which are too nice or too wondrous, we must always humble our hearts and repair our eyes on God, the life-creating Father. As an alternative of filling our souls with the loud voices of the world, we must hearken to the mild whisper of God, the life-giving Son. As an alternative of placing our hope in non permanent issues or beings, we should put our hope and belief in God, the life-sanctifying and glorifying Spirit.
Conclusion: Lengthy for Eternity
As we preserve eternity in focus, one of many objectives of biblical counseling ministry is (1) to domesticate in counselees an urge for food for divine simplicity within the land of synthetic complexities; (2) to level them towards the one and solely God within the land of a number of gods; in order that, (3) they’ll look ahead to the place they really belong: “the town that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10b, CSB).
Questions for Reflection
- Have you ever felt/skilled a eager for eternity? When you’ve got, on what event? How has your expertise knowledgeable or remodeled your stroll with Christ?
- How would you apply the eager for eternity in numerous kinds of ministries (private and non-private) at your church?
