An Eternal Perspective of 2013

Eternal Life Reflections for 2013

     About 7 years ago I felt called to take one scripture passage and reflect on it throughout the year. Since that time, I spend the month of December praying, reflecting and asking God to reveal the scripture for the next year.  My annual scripture search begins with placing the search in God's hands.   I envision God holding the year ahead.  God knows what I will walk through in the coming year and I ask God to give me a scripture passage that will equip me with wisdom and strength to move through the year.  The goal is to give glory to God by living out that one scripture passage through the year.   Once the scripture is revealed, I write it down every day.  I also look at commentaries and spend time reflecting on the passage throughout the year. Each year I have been amazed at how the passage that I write down and reflect on becomes such a source of strength, joy and peace beyond all understanding as I walk through the year.  

     My scripture for 2013 was John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that God gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life." I remember arrogantly thinking, "Really Lord, you want this scripture to be the one for the year?  It is the most quoted and everyone knows it. Don't you have another one you want me to live out that is less well known and used?"  God was not swayed by my self-righteous musings and I humbly took John 3:16 as the scripture passage for 2013. 

     Thus began the year of eternal life reflections.  One cannot write down this passage every day without being immersed in God's love and thoughts of living eternally in that love. It's hard to fathom a love so great and it's even harder to think of eternity in that love.  I remember when Peter, our oldest son, was placed in my arms for the first time I had two thoughts that went through my brain as I looked at this child I had carried within me for 9 months.  The initial thought was "I cannot believe that my parents have loved me like this my whole life."  The second thought was overwhelming and I still have not grasped it, "I cannot believe that God loves me even more than this."  I cannot fathom a love that is greater than I have for my children.  There is nothing that they did to earn that love. That love rushed into me as soon as I knew they existed, and even before they existed.  They are my children.  They cannot do anything to take away my love, neither is there anything they can do to make me love them more.  I fully love each one of them.  

    That does not mean that there are times when I don't like what they are doing, or get frustrated with them. There were times when they lived at home that I had to discipline them. But those times never took away the love.  Just as the tough moments in our lives do not take away God's love for us.  God's love is greater than a parent's love.  It is eternal.  It is there for us to rest in and find a peace beyond all understanding as we allow an eternal perspective of that love to govern the temporal of our lives.

       The discipline of living with an eternal perspective is a daily task.  A task made easier through prayer.  My prayer each day when I awake assists in my attempts to live out an eternal perspective, "Thank you God for one more day to know you, love you and serve you.  May my words and my actions reveal your love to myself, my family and everyone I meet today."  May all of us live by those words and live in the eternal perspective of God's great love.