Certainties - 1
I was preaching from the book of Ecclesiastes until I ran into a verse that sidetracked me. It's Ecclesiastes 3:11, particularly the phrase that says, "He has also put eternity in their hearts." The "He" is God, and the "hearts" are people, you and me, our hearts. Have you ever stopped to think about the concept of eternity and where that concept came from? First, we have nothing to compare it to in the natural world. Everything that we know of, everything that we can touch or know about, has a beginning and an ending point. Among other things, the second law of thermodynamics says that everything is progressively wearing out; everything in a closed system either remains the same or goes to a state of less order. Take my desk, for example; it is normally in a state of disorder. It will remain in disorder without input from outside forces, such as my wife. It even has a tendency to become more disorderly. We see that vividly in humans or actually in all living things. We try to keep our bodies in good shape. We try to stay young, exercise, eat healthy, and go to the doctor when needed, but the reality is that you and I are wearing out. We know nothing in the physical realm that won't eventually break down. So, back to my question, "Where does the idea of eternity come from?" God's Word tells us that He put it into our hearts. We didn't just come up with the idea from our vast experience of life; it is a God-implanted idea.
Why is this important to us, as we will all wear out in the near future? From the Word of God, we understand that God wants us to be a part of his eternity where He is the focal point, and sin and death will no longer be present, and we will not wear out. We will have quality of life and unending life. I John 5:11, 12, 13 says, "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." God tells us that we can experience the reality of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It says that you may "know" that you have eternal life. God says it, so it is a certainty.
Some people say that we are destroying our planet and, at some point, what we are doing will destroy all humanity. Are you concerned about what is happening in the Middle East? That part of the world always seems to be in chaos, but at times, it seems to get excessively chaotic. We are in one of those times. Realistically, the whole world stands to be adversely affected by what is and what might happen there. Are you uncertain about what will happen, and does it worry you? Are you concerned that life may soon end? No matter what you know, you can be sure that you have eternal life. This passage tells us that if we have the Son, Jesus Christ, we have life. Nothing that can happen in this world can take that away.
Pastor Lynn Rettig
Musselshell Community Bible Church
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