When Jesus returns He will usher us into a new era in which there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelations 21:1); God will be our light (Revelations 21:23) there will be no more sorrow or sickness (Revelations 21:4) and we will be joyful and at peace forever. It will be perfect. Yet trying to imagine something so astounding can be difficult. Now, try living in the light of that. How do you? How do you go about living your ordinary life that consists of chores and work and groceries when heaven, indeed eternity, is right around the corner? Wouldn’t it be better to just remove yourself from the world and wait for the end? As attractive as that may sound for some, that is actually not the solution because we are not called to just sit and wait, but to prepare for eternity.
Why on Earth Am I Here?
The first step to preparing for eternity is understanding why we are here on earth. God created us to be loved by Him and to love Him back. He created us to give glory to Him. (Isaiah 43:7) He created us to know Him, to fellowship and commune with Him and when Jesus died he did not do so just to take away our sins. He died so that we might know God (John 3:16, 17:3) and return to the communion and fellowship with God that Adam and Eve got to enjoy, and that was originally planned for all of us. Our sin was the barrier that kept us from that.
But now that barrier is gone and we can begin to do what we were created to do; live for and know God. This is what it will be like in eternity. We will live forever in God’s presence and forever glorify Him. So with that knowledge it only makes sense that we begin to prepare for that. But how do I do that? You ask. You do that by living for the glory of God.
1. Live for the Glory of God
To prepare for an eternity in which we will be glorifying God we need to start doing so in this life. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Whatever you do – this that in everything, be it working, eating or talking, you can glorify God. But how exactly does one do that? Paul explains in Colossians 3:23 ‘And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.’ We aren’t here to please men but to please God. In every area of our lives we can give glory to God by being sincere and heartfelt in our actions, and doing all things as if we are doing them for God alone. We are called to be lamps set on a lamp stand (Luke 11:33) that shine and testify to God’s goodness, greatness and glory, not just in the big moments but in the small, mundane moments too because that is what we will be doing for all eternity.
2. Grow in Grace and Knowledge
Another way to prepare for eternity is by growing in the grace and knowledge of God. This means increasing our knowledge of godly things and making sure that we are constantly renewing our minds (Romans 12:2) and transforming them so that they, and we, become more Christ-like. We can do this by filling them with and meditating on God’s truth which is revealed to us in the Word.
You see, nothing corrupt or evil will reside in the kingdom of God, in fact such things will be thrown into a lake of fire. (Revelations 21:8) That is not where we want to go! But we could end up there if we fall away from Christ and disregard His salvation. So to prevent that we must not let ourselves be carried away by the things of this world (2 Peter 3:17) and we must keep ourselves in God’s love (Jude 21) and continue to grow in godliness.
3. Go and Make Disciples
The final thing we can do as we prepare for eternity is make disciples.
Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
As Christians we are called to make disciples; people who don’t just accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour then sit on their hands but people who live as Christ calls us to live, in all the goodness and victory He has promised us.
There are many in the world who are still living in darkness, with no hope and no knowledge of God’s goodness and love. There are many who do not know that there is more to live for than themselves. These people need the light of God brought to them and we are the ones who can and must do that. We must let the Holy Spirit guide us and inspire us to fulfill Christ’s great commission and show and teach people how to live in Christ.
So as you can see, whilst we may be eager for Christ to come quickly and soon, there is still much for us to do here in this life, so many ways in which we can prepare ourselves and others for eternity. Every moment (big or small) of every day is an opportunity to do that. When Christ comes we do not want to be like the unfaithful servant who was rebuked and cast away for being idle. (Matthew 25: 26; 30) We want to be called a good and faithful servant and to be praised for doing God’s good work (Matthew 25:23) and then we want to be ushered into the joy of the Lord and into the eternity we have prepared all our lives for.
