The Direction of Our Eternity

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:46 pm Post subject: The Direction of Our Eternity

The Direction of Our Eternity

Scripture:

Woe to you that are wealthy in Sion, and to you that have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: you great men, heads of the people, that go in with state into the house of Israel.

You that sleep upon beds of ivory, and are wanton on your couches: that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd; you that sing to the sound of the psaltery: they have thought themselves to have instruments of music like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments: and they are not concerned for the affliction of Joseph. Wherefore now they shall go captive at the head of them that go into captivity: and the faction of the luxurious ones shall be taken away. (Amos 6:1, 4-7)

But you, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, where unto you are called and be it confessed a good confession before many witnesses. I charge you before God who quickens all things, and before Christ Jesus who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession: That you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show, who is the Blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Who only has immortality and inhabits light inaccessible: whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and empire everlasting. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:11-16)

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from table of the rich man. And no one did give him: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham.

And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom: And he cried and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue: for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that you did receive good things in your lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor from thence come hither.

And he said: Then, father, I beseech you that you would send him to the house of my father, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments. And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance. And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead. (Luke 16:19-31)

Reflection:

What do we gain if we possess all the comforts of the world, yet forsake the blessings of eternity? The temptation is to seek our comfort in things and not remember what is of Him. We perceive power through what we possess and our station of position, but He does not view us through the lens which the world views us, rather He views us through the lens of His Word.

He was the One who created us, each with gifts of potential. Whatever we have in the moment may be taken away in a moment. In our hour of passing, there is no possession which may be taken with us. Our legacy will not be the amount of our accounts, rather it will be what is left in the hearts of those with whom we have lived.

To pursue the world is to pursue death, but to pursue His Word is to pursue the light of life. He offers eternal life to all who believe in Him, but our belief is not only what is upon our lips, but is demonstrated by the works of the talents He created in us. It is not the letter of the law to which He calls us, for to follow the letter without love forsakes the heart of His design. He calls us to produce the fruits of charity and love. In this way, we do not judge, rather we serve for His purpose.

Through the generations He has sought for us to learn what will come of us as we pass from this world. Through His Son, He taught us with parables. He showed us the path of the faithful and the path of those led by the world. He seeks for us to learn that our estate is not of this world, but the eternity of what comes after. He seeks for us to learn that what we store up of the world is only for the time of the world, but what we store up in the soul is for the time of eternity.

The Word of scripture and prophet remains before us as well as the deceptions of the world. It is our choice as to what we shall believe, but a time will come where we will see the consequences of our choices. We may seek to nourish our soul with charity and love or selfishness and evil. What we pull into it while we are in this world will set our path for eternity. Only He can purge the stain of sin from our soul. He seeks to guide our path, He seeks that we understand the consequences of what we do and what we fail to do so that we may turn away from that which causes harm and turn to the path of charity and love.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier