Setting the Pace: Living Life with an Eternal Perspective
Welcome to my new column! I look forward to sharing a few thoughts and encouragements with you each and every week. As you can see, I have titled this column, Setting the Pace, and have added the tag line, Living Life with an Eternal Perspective. The reason I selected this title is because I believe the only way to “set the pace” in our short, temporary life, is by living life with an eternal perspective, and it is with that perspective I will be writing each week.
My family has learned much about living with an eternal perspective the past two years. Many of you might remember hearing and reading about my son, Trey, in the Newcastle Pacer. Our son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2012, and fought hard every single day for a year, but on September 1, 2013, the Lord called him home to heaven. Trey was 7 years old. As you can imagine, this was incredibly difficult for our family. My wife and I have four other children, and we were all shaken to our very core. Yes, I am a pastor, and yes, I know what the Bible says, but there is a difference between “knowing” something and “living” something, and on September 1, 2013, we were confronted with the reality of whether or not we would truly live what we knew. On that day, we were greatly comforted with the incredible truth that Trey was in the presence of God, because he had surrendered his life to Jesus earlier that year. However, we were still hurting since we knew we had to go on in this life without him. That was and continues to be a difficult reality.
Since September 1, 2013, my family has been on a journey together, though it is a journey of growth and healing. We have learned, in a fresh and new way, what it means to make the most of the time God has given us. The Bible says in James 4:14, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” This verse begs the question, “How should we live our lives while on this earth?” Some might say, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die.” Others might read that verse and live in fear, or go into a hyper-protective mode trying not to ever let anything bad happen to them or the ones they love. Yet, those perspectives and many more are not the way we need to live.
2 Corinthians 4:18 tell us what to do. This scripture says, “So we fix our eyes, NOT on what we can see, but on what we CANNOT see, for what is seen is temporary, and what is unseen is eternal.” This is how we need to live. We need to live on earth with a focus on eternity. When we live with eternity in mind, we will live to please God, whom we will all stand before one day. We will love and treat our family and friends they way they should be treated. We will have the right priorities and make better decisions. We will serve and sacrifice for others instead of living for ourselves. We will not worry about things that do not matter or things we cannot control. And list goes on and on. Today, live with an eternal perspective, and watch how it changes everything else in your life. See you next week!
Jeremy Freeman
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