Preparation For The Really Big Stuff

Read I Corinthians 6

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the
ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not
know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to
judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial
cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels?
How much more the things of this life!
(I Corinthians 6:1-3)

Food For Thought… Do you realize that how you deal with life now is simply warm-up for your life to come in eternity? How you handle crises, resolve disputes, overcome temptation, steward your resources, serve in a ministry, treat your spouse, love your neighbor, control your tongue, forgive those who have offended you, get along with fellow believers, and so on, is in truth, preparation for a life of purpose in the eternal world awaiting beyond this one.

That puts everything you do now in a whole new and much more important light. Earth is getting you ready for heaven—hopefully! Life is kindergarten, and you are about to enter the first grade—but you first have to attain a certain mastery of reading, writing, and arithmetic…and oh yes, playground etiquette, too!

Heaven will not be about sitting beside a crystal stream, strumming your golden harp and watching the angels dance like sugar plum fairies. Your eternity is going to be purposeful. You will have a job to do. You will be on mission for God, ruling over his unending and ever-expanding creation. You are going to reign with Jesus Christ.

Therefore, you must learn how to rule and reign now! And the little corner of God’s kingdom that is represented in the church to which you belong is your proving ground. That is why serving in a ministry and faithfully attending and financially supporting and preserving the harmony of your fellowship now is so important in light of what is coming next.

That is the point of Paul’s stinging rebuke to the Corinthians who decided to take an unresolved dispute with other believers to a worldly court. He reminds them if they can’t even handle playground stuff like resolving conflicts with each other, how can they be expected to judge the world and administrate angels. Likewise, if they can’t learn to control their bodies and refrain from sexual sin now, how can they be expected to exercise control over God’s uncontained universe.

Do you get the point? We must master life now in all of its dimensions—big and small, because it is preparation for the really big stuff that God has waiting for us in the next life.

The school year is coming to an end; kindergarten is almost over. Are you ready for what’s next?

Prayer…
Lord, remind me that how I handle the details, big and small, in my life today is critical preparation for what is to come.

One More Thing… “To enter Heaven a man must take it with him.” —Henry Drummond

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