“Earth is playdough, Eternity’s a stone.”
Does it ever suddenly occur to you that life is quickly passing you by, and eternity is even more quickly approaching? Every day, eternity could literally be just one breath away for any of us.
And every day of life, we have opportunities to make a difference for all of eternity – an encouraging word spoken, a life touched, a child loved, the gospel shared…
God has called every person who belongs to Him to touch eternity through our daily lives, and He’s only given us this brief time we call “life” to do it. Everything that is done in the hairbreadth of our lifetime will impact everything about our eternity forever. That ought to be a very humbling thought.
As Christians, we anticipate and long for the perfection and glory of that day when we see Jesus face to face, and rightly so. But once we step foot on the other side of eternity, there’s no longer any difference whatsoever that can be made there. Everything that we’ve ever done in this life will be cemented into “forever”, never to be undone or redone.
That’s why I’ve adopted this perspective that I’d encourage you to remember – “Earth is playdough, Eternity’s a stone.” In this short time span we call life, we have the opportunity to shape and mold not only the world around us here, but the future forever! And once we are in that forever, what we’ve done here on earth, good or bad, is eternally set in stone.
So as wonderful as Heaven is sure to be, there’s no difference we can make there.
Ecc. 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest.
As much as I look forward to Heaven, once I’m there:
- There’s no more investment I can make into the hearts and lives of my kids.
- There’s no more souls I can share the gospel with and help to reach.
- There’s no more opportunities to invite my neighbors to church, no more chances to open the Bible and do family devotions with my kids, and no more “laugh your guts out” memories with the family to be made.
- There’s no more chances to make good on my intentions to witness to that lost friend.
- There’s no more that can be given back to the Lord and His Church.
- And the list could go on and on…
I’m as excited as anyone about seeing the face of Jesus and walking on the street of gold, but as we ponder the awesome thought of eternal bliss someday, may we never forget… that no difference can be made in Heaven. And as best we know, Heaven could be a reality for any of us as soon as today.
But the good news is this – as best we know, we still have Today!
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today.
God’s Word admonishes us that if we’re going to do good, then let’s do it Today, while we still have time to make an eternal difference.
So, what has God been prompting you to do that you haven’t done yet?
- What difference are God and others counting on you to make?
- What change in your family needs to move from being an intention to becoming a reality?
- What lost person do you need to go talk to before their eternal fate is set in stone?
- In what ways should you be investing your life instead of just living it?
Whatever it is, do it today! Be willing to invest the “blood, sweat and tears” that it may take today, so that you can enjoy the eternal fullness of Heaven tomorrow. Because there’s no convenience of today that will be worth the regret you’ll face then, when you realize there’s nothing that can be done to change the past.
I love how the Apostle Paul worded it in Romans 8:18 when he said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” When we live with an ongoing eternal perspective, there’s no inconvenience or sacrifice of today that will outweigh the blessings of tomorrow.
What convenience do you need to refuse or what sacrifice do you need to make to ensure that your enjoyment is not just temporary in the here and now, but eternally cemented into Heaven itself?
“Earth is playdough, Eternity’s a stone” – shape what you can while you can, or one day, you’ll regret it! Because even though we live for Heaven, no difference can be made there.
Now… go make a difference, Today!
