Eternal-Value Moments

Do something of eternal value everyday.

My dad was a master at creating pithy phrases. As a pastor, his mind was always working on forming concise thoughts. At home, we heard the resulting phrases with regularity. I grew up hearing words of wisdom reminding me to consider my options or to work hard and play hard or to give any job the extra ten minutes.

Dad passed away in 1999, but his words live on in my mind - none with more consistency than the ones above - Do something of eternal value everyday.

Our world doesn't make that a particularly easy way to live our lives. Possibilities for entertainment bombard us with increasing frequency. Where once, the only option for entertainment was listening to the radio, watching TV or chatting with a friend - we now have unlimited leisure time to-do lists. We have classes available in every subject from curling to photography to finding our inner selves (which assumes that we're lost). We have gyms available with every type of equipment imaginable and Olympic-sized pools to practice our backstroke. We have computer games and Facebook where we can simultaneously chat with a high school friend who now lives in California, to a business associate from New England, to our niece up the road. We have instant access to all news: wars, murders, gold prices and of course, top priority alert of the week - what celebrities are wearing on their feet.

Not that any of these activities are bad. In fact, most of them can actually be beneficial - but they do take up time we could be using for the eternal-value moments.

But wait a minute. This is life in the 2000s. This is us as Christians in the 2000s. The eternal value minutes are there if we look for them.

1. Taking pictures of God's creation during a nature walk with your photography class, could be an inroad to introducing Christ.
2. Putting down the computer mouse and spending an hour with your children on the Wii reinforces the love you have for them. Laughing together and then reminding them that God created laughter helps them to understand how much they are loved by you and by God.
3. Inviting that man you've gotten to know at the gym to the guys' Bible study at church could lead to his ultimate salvation.
4. Reconnecting with your high school friend could be an opportunity to continue some of those theological discussions you used to have over pizza and soda.
5. And reading about celebrity shoe styles ... well ...

Do something of eternal value everyday.

Paul wrote in Colossians 4:5 - "...make the most of every opportunity."

This is our life. These are the moments that make up our life. Let's use them wisely.