FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
OUR THEME FOR 2024
(Part 11)
FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY
June 4, 2024
Today’s readings:
2 Peter 3:12-15,17-18
Psalm 90:2-4,10,14,16
Mark 12:13-17
God is eternal. Before all things were made, to the time when all things will be dissolved, there is God, with no beginning and no end. “Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God.” (Ps 90:2). After creating the universe, God created humankind from the dust of the ground, and we will return to dust at the end of time. “You turn humanity back into dust” (Ps 90:3a). So for all of creation, “the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire.” (2 Pt 3:12b).
The only eternal constant is God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. For our part, we live in this world but not for this world. We look to our eternal destination, which is heaven, as “according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pt 3:13a). How do we get there? As we live our lives in the righteousness of God, since heaven is the place “in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pt 3:13b). So what are we to do? We are to “be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.” (2 Pt 3:14). We are to strive for holiness and perfection in this world.
What will keep us from heaven? We will not get to heaven if we do not live righteous lives. This happens as we invest ourselves in this world rather than in the next. People get so caught up in this life that they end up missing what is forever. Jesus has already told us, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mk 12:17). The modernists in the Church do not help, as they look more to the well-being of man rather than the righteousness of God, to the rule of the state rather than the rule of God. We are forewarned: “be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled and to fall from your own stability.” (2 Pt 3:17).
We need not man’s but God’s wisdom as we navigate our way through this earthly life. “Teach us to count our ways aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” (Ps 90:12). We are to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Pt 3:18a). Then we can make it to heaven.
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