Grace for faithfulness now...while fixed on eternity

                    A little food for weekend thought--

      From Paul David Tripp: "It's hard to live with eternity in view.  Life does shrink to the moment again and again...There are moments when our happiness and contentment shrink to getting those new shoes or to the steak that is just 10 minutes away.  There are moments when who we are, who God is, and where this whole thing is going shrink into the background of the thoughts, emotions, and needs of the moment.  There are moments when we get lost in the middle of God's story.  We lose our minds, we lose our sense of direction, and we lose our remembrance of Him.
      God reminds us that this is not all there is, that we were created and re-created in Christ Jesus for eternity.  He reminds us not to live for the treasures of the moment: 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay for yourselves treasures in heaven.' (Mt.6:19-20)
      Think about this: if God has already granted you a place in eternity, then He has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you'd never get there.  There is grace for our fickle and easily distracted hearts.  There is rescue for our self-absorption and lack of focus.  The God of eternity grants you His eternal grace so that you can live with eternity in view."

      Oh goodness, aren't you thankful?  Aren't you thankful it's not all up to us and our puny abilities, our ever-vacillating emotions, our wrong-headed desires, and our meager love and compassion?  If it were up to us, we'd all be toast!  But it's not--it's so wonderfully, eternally, joyfully not about us, but all about our Redeemer Sustainer, and Savior.  It's all about what He's done, is doing, and will be doing forever.
      Oh thank You, Father, that You not only provided us with a glorious eternal home, but You sent us an even more glorious Savior who provides the only way to that eternal home.  And if that was not enough, You even give us the grace we need every single day to live here on planet earth with eternity fixed in our sights.  The grace to be faithful in all our daily, ordinary moments but yet with eternity set in our hearts and minds.
      Yes, Lord, remind us again--You are here with us right now in the nitty gritty of our lives...but the best--the glorious-beyond-imagining best--is yet to come.
      Sometimes we forget that this life isn't a playground; it's a battleground.  Yes, this world, this life can be incredibly wondrous, but it also has it share of sorrow, sin, disease, defeat, and heartache.
      But heaven is coming!
     When the going gets tough, it sure helps to remember what's just ahead.  In fact, in light of eternity, heaven is quite literally a simple breath, a mere minute or two away.  So by God's infinite and amazing grace, let's stay faithful in the here and now, even while we're fixed on our heavenly inheritance.
      To God be the glory.