For years, Pastor Paul Tripp understood we were ‘hardwired for forever.’ But he didn’t understand that it was more than a valuable insight.
“Every human being has a desire for paradise in their heart.”
Paul has found that we say we believe in things, like eternity. But, we don’t actually live life like we believe these things. He wrote his book, Forever, asking how we would live if we took eternity seriously. He recognized that the concept of eternity is not taken seriously today in Western culture. If people start talking about eternity, most of their listeners will pat them on the head and assume they’re crazy.
Thinking about eternity doesn’t make us crazy. Rather, it aligns us with the heart of an eternal God.
When we take our eyes off the eternal perspective we get dragged into popular distortions of biblical teaching, distortions like the message of prosperity gospel. Instead of seeking temporary satisfaction, a proper perspective on eternity helps us trust God and his plans for us.
“God will take me where I haven’t intended to go in order to produce in me what I could not achieve on my own.”
God is after the radical transformation of us as people. He’s not after our happiness. He’s not after our success. He’s not after our comfort. He’s after our very souls. At the same time, living the way God wants us to operate leads to blessing.
“If by grace I have been promised a secure place in eternity, then by the very nature of that, I have been promised all the present grace I need to get there.”
The promise of eternity is also a promise that God will be with us and for us in all our present moments to guard and keep us for eternity.
Key Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 3:11, Matthew 6:19-21
