Pastor Ponderings #171: Hereafter

The here-and-now gets priority attention. At least in my life. The focus of energy and activity is on those things seemingly lying at my feet. To leave them would have the potential to create a tripping hazard and I don’t have the time nor interest in picking myself up off the pavement. It may be inevitable that we give attention to the here-and-now, but can we do so with the hereafter as our guide and motivation?

Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; 18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

Perhaps the freelancing of sinners isn’t what allures your heart to envy. For me, it can be a simple forgetting of the hereafter. Daily struggles or demands take my focus off eternity and service to my Lord. Eyes turn inward rather than upward and “myself” can steal attention reserved for Jesus. This is a strategic play of the enemy of our souls.

Take the ministry for example. I have been serving in some form of ministry for the last twenty-five years. Sometimes, as currently, in a paid role but mostly as a volunteer. It has been a fascinating ride offering some of my best and worst experiences in life. There have been seasons of rejoicing where you see a real breakthrough in someone’s life. There is incredible wonder when an individual has that moment of touching the eternal in their understanding. There is joy in a person repenting of sin and accepting Christ as Lord. There is deep satisfaction in marrying and even burying the saints.

Nevertheless, all of this translates to a tremendous amount of work and weight. I don’t have to do it. I don’t need it to support myself or my family. Is this a platform I must maintain to stroke my own ego? May the Lord remove me presently if that is the case. There are seasons where you may find yourself in the same thinking pattern: Why am I still doing this? This doesn’t seem worth the effort. Am I making a difference? Am I actually a hindrance to what the Lord wants to do?

These are questions worth asking ourselves in taking personal inventory, but if our focus is purely the here-and-now, we will drop the work like a hot potato. The hereafter must take centre stage in our thinking so eternity can inform our here-and-now.

Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Dealing with the here-and-now should not be ignored. Rather, allow it to be informed by what comes when all this doesn’t matter anymore. Keeping your eyes on the prize and the high calling of the Saviour while being useful in the day to day will ensure that you’re not so heavenly minded that you become no earthly good. Face the daily grind in the here-and-now motivated by the hereafter.