Rick Warren Daily Hope Devotional For February 22, 2023 : Topic – Spend Your Life Getting Ready for Eternity
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“Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us.”
Ephesians 1:4-5 (TLB)
To get ready to be used by God, the first thing you need to do is understand the purpose of your life.
The Bible makes God’s purpose for you very clear: “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us” (Ephesians 1:4-5 TLB).
God made you to be part of his family. He made you so he could have a relationship with you—to love you and to be loved in return. But there’s only one way to become part of God’s family: through faith in Jesus Christ.
Not only does God want you to be part of his family but he also wants you to spend eternity with him. Ephesians 1:10 says, “This was his purpose: that when the time is ripe he will gather us all together . . . to be with him in Christ forever” (TLB). God’s purpose is, first, that you become part of his family and, next, that you get to know him. Then he wants you to spend all of eternity with him.
History is moving toward a climax. One day God will gather everyone who’s put their faith in him, and they will live together with him in heaven.
Life here on Earth is preparation for eternity. The Bible says that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). That means you were made to last forever. You were made for eternity. Every human being is going to live forever in one of two places: with God in heaven or apart from God in hell.
God didn’t create you just for the 80 or 90 or however many years you have on this planet. God has long-range plans for your life. So, what is life on Earth about? It is preparation for eternity. In other words, God is more interested in preparing you for eternity than he is in simply making you happy here and now. Of course, he loves you and wants you to be happy—but not at the expense of your preparation for eternity.
Life is a dress rehearsal; it’s the warm-up act for the big event. You need to get prepared for eternity by getting to know God, becoming more like Jesus, and letting God use you to fulfill his purpose on Earth.