When one commits to Living With Eternal Intentionality, life takes on a depth of meaning and purpose encapsulated in the word destiny. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly, that it might be full and meaningful” (John 10:10).
While Scripture tells us “He has also set eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), assumptions rob us of the God-given opportunity to live with dynamic focus. So, rather than live in default mode, I suggest 4 Powerful Convictions which allow us to think eternally while living temporally.
Intimacy with Jesus
You and I are given the opportunity, not only to believe in Jesus, but to BE with Jesus. Our Savior invites us to worship Him, to get to know Him, to walk with Him—to do life One-on-one with Him. What starts inside us as a flicker develops into a flaming fire when we devote ourselves to walk with Him on our own Emmaus Road. (Luke 24:13) Intimacy is a rare quality in today’s world, and intimacy with Jesus is rarer still. Yet I am convinced that developing intimacy with Jesus is our first concern each day. And, as Dr. Charles Stanley says, “Intimacy with God, His greatest priority for our lives, determines the impact of our lives.”
Authenticity with others
False, fake, and fictional plague our society. The world desperately longs to discover a real person with real problems who walks with a real Jesus. With security and significance grounded in Him, we are not intimidated to relate with transparency. “Be who God created you to be and you will set the world on fire.” -St. Catherine of Sienna
A Passion for your calling
Our culture fights for our attention and exerts itself to commandeer our passions. Yet, pursuing a loving and ever-increasing vibrant love for God is our divine decree. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:28-30).
A Purpose for your influence
Before Jesus left, He gave us a holy homework assignment. Not just a benediction, this statement of purpose is implanted within the spiritual DNA of every follower of Christ. Speaking in Scotland in the Autumn of 1930, Olympian Eric Liddell said, “Tonight, I want to leave a message for you all; we are all missionaries.”
Jesus wanted His children to know how to invest their days while He left them here on earth. He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Telling people everywhere includes literally everywhere: kitchen tables, carpools, dorm rooms, front porches, baby nurseries, fitness centers, soup kitchens, boardrooms, neighborhoods, military bases, coffee shops, soccer pitches. And, indeed, everywhere certainly embraces the nation on the other side of the globe. Wherever you and I find ourselves, we look through these location lenses to see a God-given purpose for our influence.
Viewing these 4 convictions holistically, intimacy, authenticity, passion, and purpose coalesce together to lay a framework for Living with Eternal Intentionality. Upon this structure Jesus Himself is the Architect to, as the Westminster Catechism states, bring about “the chief end of man — to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
Living with Eternal Intentionality®
Led by the prayer of the psalmist we embrace each God-given day as a gift, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NHEB).
So, what do you think?
What would you offer as your definition for Living with Eternal Intentionality?
Do the suggestions above spur you on in any particular manner?
Which of the 4 convictions stirs within you a longing for growth?
