Everyone has some level of faith, even the people who refer to themselves as ‘not religious’. These particular people appreciate and recognise that Christian principles and ethics are what give them a civilised society. They are not regular church goers but they are happy that RE is in the school their kids go to. Some ‘not religious’ people have ‘just-in-case faith’. They acknowledge a distant God, live a law-abiding life and attend carols by candle-light once a year. Others have ‘Christmas-and-Easter faith’. They most often have their kids christened. To talk about or even mention the word ‘Jesus’ in conversation is a bit much so they use the words ‘the good Lord’ or ‘the man upstairs’ in reference to God. Many people on their death bed or in a hurricane, earthquake or some sort of disaster will start making promises to God, praying to Jesus, quote Psalm 23 or sing ‘Amazing Grace’. But why? Why try and start something that hasn’t been a lifestyle? Why would someone even bother going to church at Christmas and Easter? I think it’s all because of one eight-letter word, ‘eternity’.
Einstein’s theory of relativity opened our eyes to the fact that time is relative to where you stand. Eternity is more than a very long time, it’s a place you will stand where time will be irrelevant. The thought of eternity stretches our minds because we can’t find the beginning or end, but it is something we all know is there. Some people claim not to believe in eternity but that’s equivalent to saying you don’t believe in the universe. If they could explain where the end of space is and what is beyond they might have a case for such a naive statement. The physical world we live in is suspended in eternity, and so are we. The fact is eternity is everywhere we look. Stare at the stars on a clear night, they will declare it. I find it interesting that pi, the formula for working out the circumference of a circle (which itself is endless), is a number that never ends, 3.141592654………
I am amazed at the effect of this word eternity. I have watched people sober up and their countenance change by just mentioning it. The story of Arthur Stace is well known. It was because of him ‘eternity’ was written in lights across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the turn of the millennium. For 33 years he wrote ‘eternity’ in chalk on the footpaths of Sydney. It affected thousands, many turning to God because of it. There was no evangelist preacher giving an emotional appeal or a choir to set the atmosphere. Just one word written in chalk. It’s more than science and common sense that cause us to respond to this word. We respond because it’s part of our make-up as a human being. It’s not a coincidence everybody has a gut feeling about the reality of eternity. God put it in our hearts says Ecclesiastes 3:11. That is why we get that feeling deep inside that says, ‘This can’t be all there is to life’.
In eternity things are more defined. There’s no room for error. You will either be totally right or totally wrong. Think about the science required to hold the solar system in that endless space, all the planets and their orbital paths. The science can’t afford to be a little wrong. It has to be precise, totally right or there will destruction. And so it is with the human race. There will be a heaven for those who were right and destruction for those who were wrong, even just a little bit. But how can I know I’m totally right with so many ‘beliefs’ floating around and all the stuff people say you have to do? The truth is: you don’t have to attend Bible college or go on a pilgrimage or pray three times a day or go door knocking with a white shirt and black tie or join a certain church or be Pentecostal or Evangelical or go to Confession… To be totally right for eternity God has made it very simple by giving you only one option - trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. Don’t listen to the lies of our ‘tolerant’, politically-correct society. Listen to the voice of eternity God put in your heart.