Our Souls Were Created to Last Forever

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

This is a beautiful verse but to understand it fully we need to look at it in its context.  The beginning of chapter 3 starts off by saying,

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Chapter three discusses the fact that there is a time and place for everything and there is nothing new under the sun.  But all these things come and go.  The one thing that will not end is the human soul.  Did you know God created us to live forever?  Verse 11 tells us that God has set eternity in the human heart.

We all have an internal desire to live forever and we are all searching for that one thing that will fill us completely and make us whole.  God created us with a hole in our hearts that can only be filled by Him.

As children, we are told stories that end with the words “happily ever after” implying happiness that won’t end; eternity.  As adults, we strive to have things that will last, like a house, a secure job, 401k, a reliable car, a relationship with the perfect mate, and some of us have children hoping to preserve our mortality.  But are we not dreaming long enough or far enough?

We know our physical bodies will die here on Earth, but our souls l will live forever.  Can you imagine “forever”?

When we die, we will be in our eternity.  Those are hard words.  There will be nothing else you can do to change where you end up.  You will be in your “forever after”.

Eternity is waiting.  And one day we will all meet that inevitable end.  The end of this world and the beginning of the new one.  The only thing that matters is Eternity.  In eternity, the kind of job we had won’t matter.  It will not matter how much money we made, or what kind of car we drove and it will not matter if we had kids or not.  All of these things are fleeting, they will one day be gone.

What WILL matter is did we obey Jesus’ word in the short time we were here?  Did we seek him while he may be found? God put that hole in our hearts so that we would search for Him and find Him so that our eternity will be with Him.

Have you found Jesus?  Are you actively searching for him every day in your Bible, and in your relationships?  Secure your eternity, because this day will be gone soon, they all will.

 

Sources that aided in this post are Jeremy Butler from The Daily Dose on Youtube and Jim Oesterwind from sermons.faithlife.com

 

 

 

 

What Can We Learn From Naomi Part 3: The Book of Ruth

 

In this final part of the book of Ruth, we will read chapters 3 and 4.  I will not list out the entire chapters here because 2 chapters is a lot to write out.  Instead, I ask that you read chapters 3 and 4 from your Bible on your own and I will reference the verses by writing out the ones that are important.

So far we have learned some very important things from Naomi.  We have learned to be a light to everyone around you, and allow God to show through you by bringing Him with you wherever you go.  We have also learned to think of others instead of yourself.  This is a way of praising God and glorifying Him.

Ruth 3:1 tells us:

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home^[a] for you, where you will be well provided for

This tells us that Naomi has continued to think of Ruth and take care of her. Although we know they were taking care of each other because Ruth continued to bring home more than enough food for both of them.  This verse also tells us that Naomi wanted to help Ruth find a home.  Now, she wasn’t trying to get rid of her, instead, she wanted to find a home for her where she would be taken care of and well provided for.  Naomi wanted Ruth to be loved.

Naomi wasn’t jealous of Ruth, she loved her and she gave her advice so that she would prosper.  Throughout chapter 3 we read how Ruth followed Naomi’s instruction and in chapter 4 Boaz acquires Ruth as his wife and we learn the future of Naomi.

Naomi Gains a Son

Ruth 4:13-22

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The Genealogy of David

¹⁸ This, then, is the family line of Perez:

Perez was the father of Hezron,

¹⁹ Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,

²⁰ Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,^[d]

²¹ Salmon the father of Boaz,

Boaz the father of Obed,

²² Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of David.

 

Can you imagine!  By letting God’s light shine through her, and putting others first, Naomi not only earned a spot in the Bible but in history and the lineage of Jesus Christ.  Now you can’t do these things and get a spot in the Bible, that was a done deal lol but you can live your life in a way that will allow God to work through you and use you for his glory.

Re-read verse 14-15

¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

“May he become famous!”  WOW, he was famous.  he was David’s grandfather.  David, one of the giants of the Bible.  King David.  and because of Naomi, Christ was born, died and rose again all to save our souls.

There is no guarantee that you will have a famous child or relative like Naomi down the line, but knowing that God can use you is by far better than being famous.  God created us for a purpose.  Naomi’s purpose was to help Ruth secure a husband who would love her and to raise Obed as her own.  God was able to use Naomi for our benefit and for his glory.

Do you want God to be present in your life?  For people to see you and see God in you? Do you want God to use you?  If God can’t use you, what good are you?

This week, think about Naomi.  How can you continue to let God shine through you?  How can you continue to think of others and put others’ needs before yourself?  Are you set in your ways with no room for change or growth? Can you be open so God can use you?  What is holding you back?

Learn from Naomi and allow God to use you for his glory.