Is your focus eternal or finite?

Romans 6:23 - “The consequences of sin is spiritual death and eternal separation from God. But the gift of God is eternal life with God through Christ Jesus.”

Humans are so pitifully, desperately, obsessively focussed on their life on earth. The gravitational pull of sin, that results in corrupted self-love surpasses that of any planet or star. We can physically escape the gravitation pull of heavenly bodies, but only the supernatural power of our Creator can lift our eyes to Jesus and to eternal life.

Without Jesus, our focus is on, ‘How do I look?’ ‘What do people think about me?’ 'How can I make people like me?’ If you doubt this focus on self, ask yourself this question. When looking at a group photo of which you are a part, what do you look at to judge whether or not it’s a good picture? And isn’t it true that when you feel annoyed or irritated by someone, the underlying cause is that you're furious that they weren’t thinking about YOU, about your needs and your desires?

The truth is, our focus is solidly drawn to life on earth. ‘What clothes or cars or houses can I buy?’ ‘How much money can I make?’ An atheist once declared to me, “You must not want to be a millionaire,” as though that made me some kind of a freak or something. Our thoughts and motives are constantly drawn to that which is useless and worthless when it really counts. Prove to a wealthy man or woman who is about to die that you can guarantee another year of life and you’d have that person’s fortune in a second.

How odd then that our prayers, pleas and begging go unheeded when telling people how to accept the gift of living forever in Paradise. Such is the pull of sin that only a healed, intimate, forgiven relationship with Jesus can change our focus from self to others, from this stage of life to the next stage of life. A stage that’s just a heartbeat away.