Twenty-Fourth-Sunday After Pentecost

“Embracing Eternity”

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Dr. R. Tim Meadows

Eternity is forever, at least that’s what we are told and believe, but seem to have difficulty comprehending. Eternity is a difficult concept to understand. I remember it being an obsession of my young life. It is a concept I still contemplate, but still do not completely understand. How about you? For some of you, eternity is the time that it takes to get an important question answered, whether that is by a business partner, your broker, the government, or your spouse. For others, eternity is the time that passes between significant events like when will Christmas finally arrive. Eternity for some is a fragrance which will make you desirable and appealing. Eternity in reality is the continuum of time that every human life is designed to span. As Pastor Rick Warren points out in A Purpose Driven Life, we were created to last forever.

We usually make two critical mistakes regarding eternity. We assume that we should not worry about it, that it will take care of itself, or that it is just the phase of life that comes when what we are currently living ends.

In reality, eternity is a part of what we are now living, and what we will be in eternity is determined by what we are becoming now. I want to challenge you to think with me about how we should be living today in eternity. How can you and I embrace eternity? The biblical readings today offer us the following guidance:

Embracing Eternity Requires Hope In God’s Future: the one constant for every human being is the need for hope. The Psalmist notes that our hope comes from God. Because of his protection, provision, and direction we can move with confidence through the events of life knowing that they are preparing us for our future in God’s presence. We work these challenges with hope so that we are prepared for our appearance in God’s presence.

Embracing Eternity Requires Living in Peace with One Another: The human experience is one of community, not isolation, and in the presence of God this will remain true. The challenge in this arena of embracing eternity is to find and focus on the things that foster our peace and deal with those things that fracture such. So often when we look at the things that disturb our peace, they are the minor, the insignificant matters of personal preference. We must conclude with Pogo’s declaration from the Okeefenokee Swamp that, “we have met the enemy and he is us.” Embracing eternity in peace is easier when we look to what unites us and what we can achieve together with God’s help. Since God has created us to spend eternity together, shouldn’t it be our business to learn to get along?

Embracing Eternity Requires Living a Life that Pleases God: The Hebrew Prophet Micah reminds us of the nature of this challenge when he asks rhetorically, “What does the Lord require of you?” and then answers his own question by saying; “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God.”

Paul affirms that this was the nature of his work among the Thessalonians, and a model for them. A model indeed that will also allow us to please God as we embrace and live out His eternity.

Eternity is forever, and will pass with or without our acknowledgement, but God creates us to embrace it with his hope, by living in peace with one another, by living a life that pleases Him.

Are you embracing eternity, resisting eternity, ignoring eternity, ore rejecting eternity. The choice is yours. The impact affects everyone.