Out of this world

I believe that we don't put enough significance on the idea that having faith in God is having faith in something that is out of this world. We all need to have faith that where we are at right now is not our forever home. This earth isn't going to be where we live eternally. It's not even close.

I know I am guilty of this all of the time but its a commonality to experience something super cool on earth and think we will get to experience things like that in heaven. As Christians who have put all their faith in Jesus we don't belong on this earth. We need to celebrate the magnificent power of Christ and the fact that what heaven will be like we can't even imagine...

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day and we were just talking about how there isn't really enough that is celebrated about our lives as Christians. Yeah, we aren't perfect, we sin, etc. But why do we get so down on ourselves all the time. Look at half the worships songs out there, there all about how broken we are...When we focus on how broken we are we forget the fact that we are saved and that a forever with God is on the horizon. We must always live with an out of this word mindset.

As I sit here and write this post I can say with all honesty that there isn't one place on this earth that I would want to spend eternity in. There is always something that is going to go wrong, a need that isn't met, crazy people, etc.

One of the places I think of though is Catalina Island off of the coast of California..that is one of my most favorite places I have ever been. Would I want to spend eternity there? Absolutely not. There would never be anything about that island that could fulfill me the way that God can and will in heaven. I don't care if it's 80 degrees and sunny all of the time. I don't care that it's an island off the coast of California. I don't care how good the food is. None of that will last forever...

So why do we continue to identify places, people, or things to put our faith in when they won't last? We have a mindset sometimes that we belong here...When we begin to shift that mindset, it will be one of the most fulfilling feelings you will ever feel. It's actually more of a longing rather than fulfillment. I long for the day that I get to spend eternity in a place that was promised for me.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were looking for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)

There is so much to impact in that scripture...

One of the things I want to point out is that we never know if Christ is going to return before we die or not. It could happen in 5 minutes, or 2000 years. We must envision the things that we were promised from a distance and recognize that we aren't meant for this earth. We are meant for what we envision through God's promise...that is an eternal life mindset.

Another thing is that we need to know that there is a country (a whole new land) that is promised for us someday. That land and life is going to be greater than we could ever imagine. It's so far out of the world...

My challenge to you is to live with that mindset. We are blessed to live on this earth right now, and God has put a lot of things in it for our enjoyment but it's not going to last forever. We can never expect to get everything out of this world that we want to. This world is not going to fulfill us but having an eternal life/out of this world mindset will do just that.