The Power of an Endless Life
Jane Williams, Executive Director | May 2019
"There arises another priest who has come not according to the law but according to the power of an endless life…" Hebrew 7:15-16, NKJV
Jesus came in the power of an endless life and has given all who believe in Him the same power. Today, I am preaching it to myself - Arise and face the day in the power of an endless life! I am telling myself (and anyone else who will listen):
Don't be stressed by any of the constraints facing you:
· the scrunch of only having 24 hours in a day
· the pressure of "not getting any younger" or your "biological clock ticking away"
Don't worry about:
· wasting time in a "less than optimal" job or circumstance
· people "stealing" your time with interruptions or requests
We have been handed the power of an endless life! We are going to live forever! We have no time constraints and we have plenty of time to give away. Any earthly troubles we have are mere "momentary afflictions" in light of the long stretch of eternity that extends before us (2 Corinthians 4:17).
It may be true that this life is slipping away, but this life is only a moment of the eternity that has been handed to us in Christ. We can truly ask ourselves, "What's the rush?" Jesus, who knew His earthly ministry would last only a few short years, stopped for the one, enjoyed children, took time to pray, called His disciples to be "with Him" before sending them out and patiently endured the cross. The disciples may have impatiently cried out, "Jesus, we don't have all day," but His life responded, "Oh, yes we do and much more than that.
We also don't have to feel pressured to make things happen. Jesus - who came in the power of an endless life - refused to be pressured by people or circumstances. He waited to make wine for the wedding feast (John 2), go up to the feast in Jerusalem (John 7), visit his ailing friend Lazarus (John 11). In all these instances Jesus was pressured to act sooner. Waiting didn't really make sense to those around him. His mother wanted Him to save the host from embarrassment. His brothers urged Him to openly make Himself known. His friend Lazarus was critically ill. Yet Jesus waited.
We can walk through life with the same attitude. We can wait on God. We don't have to cram everything into one day or one year. Certainly we don't want to waste time because it is a precious gift from God but we don't have to worry about not having enough. If we don't get everything done we want to here on earth, we have all eternity to do it!
Another amazing fact about our time is that no trouble or trial can really "steal" our time. The difficult experiences and stretching responsibilities we face here on earth - care for a disabled relative, raising children without a spouse, demotion at work, our own illness, even an unwanted phone call or visitor - all the things that might seem to limit what we can accomplish or enjoy here on earth have no such power over us. We have no shortage of time - we have been given through our faith in Jesus an endless life. But that is not all - the things that appear to be earthly restrictions are guaranteed to be used by God as tools to ensure that we prosper in that endless life that He has given us. Those "momentary afflictions" are "working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
An Eternal Excellence
Just look what God has promised that He is doing in us: "I will make you an eternal excellence" (Isaiah 60:15). We not only have an endless life but a quality endless life. We are being made - through all that we endure here on earth - into an eternal excellence (literally "majesty")! Endless… eternal… excellence… majesty. Quite a future in store for us!
Today, let's arise and say it to ourselves - I have been given the power of an endless life. I am being made into an eternal excellence.
Let's refuse to feel pressured or overwhelmed or disappointed by constraints or demands on our time - let's enjoy each moment and see all that comes our way in the light of God's amazing plans for us.