With Eternity in Mind

Once you have experienced the reality of God, once you have had a glimpse into Heavenly realms it changes everything.  It changes your perspective of this world and your place in it.  Now you know that His realm is true reality.  You have tasted of the world to come and you see the deception and the traps of this world.  Once you have seen and experienced the reality of Heavenly realms, nothing in this realm can ever compare.

That does not mean that we sit here impatiently waiting for someday in Heaven. It means that we are looking for opportunities to bring His kingdom here now … on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matt. 6:10)   It means that we have a desire to lead others into the same revelation.  It also means that we are motivated to do everything He has put us here to do.

At some point you begin to live there in His realm with Him, knowing that this world is not your home (Heb.11:13-16), while you travel back and forth with Him between realms.  Like the bride in the Song of Solomon, you live there in the mountains with Him, then you come leaning on His arm, into the vineyards to check on the fruit and into the fields to gather the harvest.  And when each day is done you return home with Him to your Father’s house.  Jesus said, “I am not of this world and they (My disciples) are not of this world” (John 17:14). Peter called us citizens of Heaven. (Phil,3:20 Amp).

Having this mindset will help us to see that we are truly His ambassadors here. Having an ambassadorial status will get us into whatever country He sends us to and give us favor and safety there.  We carry the authority of the King of all Kings and we are here to do His bidding.

Why is it so easy for us to become deceived by this world system and feel that we are trapped in it?  Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he deals chiefly in deception and half-truths.  We are not trapped here.  In fact, we are free to fly away with the Lord. (Rev. 4:1, John 17:24)  [We have already spoken much of this in the sections on Creatures of Both Realms and On-Ramps into Heavenly Realms.]

Have you ever seen a barnyard goose in the autumn when the wild geese begin to migrate?  The goose was born to fly.  But he has been so domesticated that he is too fat to fly very far.  His wings may even have been clipped, preventing him from gaining much height.  He hears the wild geese calling and looks up in the sky.  Something within him responds and he honks back at them. He may even run and flap his wings but he no longer has the power to really fly.  He was born in captivity and that’s all he knows.  It’s sad to see people like that.  But it doesn’t have to be. You wouldn’t have that longing in you if it wasn’t out there for you!

Remember the old cartoon about Foghorn Leghorn the big rooster and Henry the little chicken hawk?   Henry kept going into the chicken house trying to steal chickens that were three times his size.  The rooster kept throwing him out and telling him “You’re no chicken hawk, boy.   You’re just a chicken.”  But the little one knew who he was and always came back answering “No, I’m a chicken hawk and chicken hawks eat chickens.”  Rise up and be who God has created you to be!  It may take some practice and discipline to get back in shape, but He has a destiny for you to fulfill and that is proof enough that He will empower you to do it.

We seem to only have a vague concept of eternity, just enough to accept it as a part of our doctrine.  But often we live as though this life was all there is.  Our actions and language reflect this.  Sometimes people who are parting from loved ones are afraid they will never see each other again.  If you are both Believers you will have forever together!  That’s much longer than this temporary lifetime on earth.  This life is very short and temporary. (Ps. 103:15)  That’s why this earth and everything in it is called temporal. (2 Cor. 4:18)

Sometimes as people get older they begin to consider their mortality and think of eternal things.  But this is not an age related issue.  When you know you are only here temporarily, you want to do all you can with the time you have been given.  And we are only temporary visitors in this realm.  We have eternity to look forward to and eternity is forever.

In times of great stress here, allow your thoughts to return to what you have seen and experienced in Heavenly realms.  If you have no experiences to remember, read about Heaven and eternity in God’s Word.  Remember what reality actually is.  It is this:

If you belong to Jesus, you have been sent here as His ambassador with His authority to help bring His Kingdom here … now.   And when your work here is finished, you will go to your Heavenly home to be with Him, with His angels, with the great cloud of witnesses (Heb. chap.11 and 12) and a great host of your friends and loved ones forever and ever and ever… (Rev. 22:5)