Here or Eternity

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 it is written, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." This begs the question, where are we looking for satisfaction, in this world or the next? Do we believe we will find fulfillment in this present lifetime, and seeing this world as the end all? Are we living for here, or eternity?

When we are not satisfied, we look to other things to fulfill us. If we aren't fulfilled in a relationship, we look for the problem in the other person. We look to be fulfilled in our work, and when that doesn't happen, we turn to other things. We may shop to feel better about ourselves, we may self medicate with drugs and alcohol, or over indulge in food to find satisfaction. We have plenty to choose from in this life. However, none of these things will help us. Then we turn to being good enough by serving God hoping this will bring us some peace in this life.

Do we believe we were created for this life, or for something more? 1 Peter 2:11 says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." Peter reminds the reader that this world is not our home, this world is temporary, and that we have eternity to look forward too. It is a reminder to all of us who look for satisfaction in this present life, and come up disappointed. We need to say to ourselves, this is not my home. Colossians 3:1 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Where is your heart set on? This life, this world, this society, this relationship, this career, this... you fill in the blank. Or is it set on the things above, which are permanent, everlasting, and eternal. God never said we would have satisfaction in this present age, that we would have fulfillment in this world. We were created for more, that is why we yean, long, and desire something more. But when we look for this kind of satisfaction in this life, we will experience disappointment. And when we suffer we may become bitter because we have held on to the belief that this lifetime was to be all satisfying. Suffering shows us that life is missing something, and we have to ask ourselves, what am I living for, where is my heart set, for here, or eternity?