Living For Eternity While On Earth By Pete BriscoeSample

Prioritizing Your Relationship With Christ

Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it. — Jane Wagner

When I was twenty-two years old, you could say my life was characterized by ESPN and the Golden Arches. I watched sports when I got home and ate McDonald’s while I did. If that would have been the rest of my life, I’d probably have been pretty cool with that. 

Then one day, I was standing in the church lobby and I noticed this beautiful blond named Libby. I’d known her since I was seven, but I’d never noticed her before. Fifteen years later, she looked a lot different. Fifteen years later, I could see a lot different.

The rest is history. After the knot was tied, we basked in euphoria and bliss as newlyweds... for a while. Several years into our marriage we started pastoring and the kids started coming. We spent less and less time together, until one day we had to sit down and say, “We need to change some things. We are growing apart.” The urgent things had taken over the essential things, and we realized that we had failed in our priorities.

Do you remember those early days when you came to Christ? How it felt like you couldn’t soar any higher in your spirit? Then life took over, and you still loved Jesus, but the blinding excitement of it eventually faded.

On earth, there is constant tension between the temporary and the eternal. This tension is known to God, too. It’s natural and normal to feel this tension. Our hearts should long for the Lord Jesus, and we ought to feel the pangs of yearning for the eternal. At the same time, we need to be busy seeking joy in Christ as we go about the normalcy of today.

In the same way that Libby and I sat down and made it a priority to talk about our relationship, you need to do that regarding your relationship with Christ.

Overcome the tension and cut through the clutter of the temporary. Sit down, be still, and listen to the Holy Spirit as you read the Word. His eternal love never fades; not even the noise of this temporary world can drown it out. 

Jesus, I feel tension. Sometimes I have great days, and sometimes I have terrible ones. Teach me and grow me. Give me an awareness of Your presence in me and around me right now. My soul longs for You, thirsty for a drink of Your cool presence. By Your Spirit in me, slow me, let me rest in You. Quiet my soul, that I can be still and know that You are my God, still.