Narrow Focus
For many Christians, most of our religious focus is on our expectation of spending eternity with God after our mortal life on earth is over. That is understandable because the Bible tells us that this is why He sent Jesus to us. [John 3:16] Jesus came to overcome our sinful nature and to condition us for eternal life with the Father.
But it is a mistake to believe that God expects us to be with Him only after we die. Instead, it is God’s intention and desire that we are to spend every moment with Him during our lives, in the now, as well as after our mortal life is over. Remember Adam. God created him (and Eve) so that He could enjoy their company in the Garden. [Genesis 1:26]
Of course, it is true that our relationship with Him while we’re alive on the earth is impossible for us to perfect. Our innately sinful nature inevitably clouds our relationship with Him. Again, remember Adam.
God’s Desire
However, such discordance should not discourage or dissuade us from making the attempt to have the most intimate relationship with Him possible, now. [Paslm 16:11] Wouldn’t we all be better off, happier, and more at ease with our lives if we were in a deep relationship with Him today?
So, the questions for this week’s post are, “What would such a relationship ‘look’ like and how would it manifest in our lives today?” And, “What does the question have to do with our mortality?”
Mortality Redefined
I believe that an abiding and deep relationship with God has many “earthly” manifestations, all of them good and desirable. And that a life lived with God will have repercussions across the world and time that we can neither foresee or even imagine. These repercussions or effects of the lives we will have lived in and with God will “live on” as our legacy for ages to come. So that, in a sense, our lives (or at least the acts of our lives) will have never ended. Our physical bodies may not be immortal, but the effects of our lives are. And in that respect, “we” will always be here.
Earthly Manifestations
The first manifestation of our relationship with God is that our interpersonal relationships become better. We are called into stewardship for one another. [1 Peter 4:10] Not to impress God, but because if we love God, we will love His creations. We are the pinnacle of that creation, and our love must be expressed to one another.
Jesus said, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” [Matthew 25:40]
Taking care of our brothers and sisters is a direct outgrowth of our relationship with God and the most telling evidence of our relationship with Him.
Another manifestation is taking care of His creation. Adam was charged with taking care of the Garden and all its creatures. [Genisis 1:26] Like Adam, God expects us to take care of the Home He’s provided for us. Good Christians are also good stewards of His creation.
A third manifestation of our relationship with God is to exemplify the ideas and ideals that He has set out for us in the Bible. We are meant to be beacons of light for others in a dark world, attracting them to Him. [Matthew 5:16] “Actions speak louder than words,” truly applies here. When others say about us, “I want what they have!” our relationship with God is evident.
The Point
The point is that our relationship with God should manifest itself in the world in tangible ways.
The hungry must be fed. The forlorn must be given hope. And the distraught must be given comfort.
We are called to leave this Earth a better place than we found it. The air should be cleaner. The seas should be more pristine. And God’s other creatures should thrive rather than suffer diminishment and extinction.
And others should be attracted to our faith; not from fear of Hell, but rather from delight at seeing what a life well-lived with God can offer.
Effects Forever
When we have lived a life in concert with God, these things will all be evident in our life.
Most of us will never know the full impact that our lives so spent will have had. But be assured that our lives will have mattered.
Some person we helped in a time of crisis may go on to find a cure for cancer; something they could not have done without our aid or assistance. All of humanity will have been blessed by our one act of kindness.
Our act of cleaning up a beach may inspire someone to develop a new way to keep the world’s oceans clear of the plague of plastic and debris we’ve created. Again, our simple act could reverberate across the world to all its people for ages to come.
Or the example of our quiet attendance to our faith may inspire another Billy Graham or other great evangelist. And through them, thousands may be drawn into Christianity who might never have heard the message. Our example will have resulted in the saving of thousands who might otherwise have died in darkness.
All these things are possible when we each live a life faithful to Him, striving to do His will, and allowing ourselves to be guided by His Holy Spirit.
And, because of our lives properly lived out with God, we will continue to affect the world and our brothers and sisters for as long as the world exists.
Encouragement
So, if we can be said to be the sum of our lives, we will never leave the world. Our lives and our actions will continue to affect people and their lives for generations to come. Our souls will be with God, but our lives will still be here; doing His work and in that sense, we will never have left.
I encourage each of us to live into our faith and to deepen our relationship with Him who gave us life. When we do that, our lives will shine into the world and on those around us. We will be confident in our future, and the world will be better off for the fact that we were here. We will have overcome our mortality both in the world and in the life to come.
God’s Blessings on You All.
Richard
August 23, 2019
