Morning Brew: Monday, Oct 12

Are you living today in light of eternity? I need deadlines. If I have no accountability, I will procrastinate. If you tell me something is due by Sunday, I may not finish it (or even start it) until Saturday night, but I will finish it by Sunday. I need deadlines. I need accountability. It keeps me honest. It keeps me on the straight and narrow.

1 This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice

and do what is right,

for my salvation is close at hand

and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

2 Blessed is the one who does this—

the person who holds it fast. Isaiah 66:1-2

God does not reveal the day and the time, but he lets us know that the end is near. God will soon come to judge the earth, and we will all be held accountable. Our actions (and our lack of actions) will be held up to scrutiny before the God of the universe.

Don’t delude yourself into thinking that the day is far off or that God won’t ultimately judge. Watch the news. This world is in a death spiral. This earth is crumbling under the decay of sin. Mankind is not getting better. We’re getting worse. We will be held accountable. We will be judged.

So in light of that, in light of eternity, how are we to act? “Maintain justice, and do what is right.” Justice for those that we work with, justice for those in our families, justice for the at-risk kids in our communities. Maintaining justice is not watching five hours of primetime television. That is a momentary enjoyment with no lasting value.

Helping a friend in need, blessing a stranger, having that hard conversation that you know you need to have, that will have dividends for eternity. And you will be blessed. The God who will judge is the God who will bless beyond measure. Are you living today in the light of eternity?

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: If you lived today in the light of eternity, what would be different?