Eternity in mind

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.  - Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has indeed made everything beautiful in His time. I could spend a lot of time there, but my attention is drawn to the next phrase ‘He has put eternity in their hearts.’

Man is eternal. From the beginning of recorded history man, even apart from the word of God, has always known that there is more to life than the womb to the tomb. Man has worshipped everything because he knows this is not all there is to life. Many archaeological discovers have something to do with some form of worship and burial sites always seem to be designed with an afterlife in mind. It is so much a part of humanity that even in the Mortal Coil episode of Star Trek Voyager Neelix is crushed by the fact that when he died there was nothing and he suffers a crisis of faith. That theme is a constant trope. It is a constant theme of discussion. People say things 'I just can't get my mind around death being the end.' 

I think that is because God has put eternity in the minds of mankind. There is an eternal mindedness that man must choose to reject, and man has seemingly done a good job of it of late. Most folks seem to have closed the door on the eternity in their minds. God’s ‘eternity in mind’ has been the subject of religion and philosophy since the beginning of human history.

But there is an answer to ‘shuffling off this mortal coil.’ God has put eternity in our minds, but he has provided the answer for eternity. Life goes on, and we need to be concerned about that truth because God has a plan for each of us to spend that eternity with Him.

With eternity in mind or focus should be the eternity in our minds. This earthly part of our lives is swiftly passing away – but eternity will be forever. We have friends and family and co-workers who we need to see the light of eternity. Where will they spend it? We have the hope to fill eternity.

But where is our focus?