How many seconds are there in eternity?

Eternity Is Forever
By Keith Henry III

Then the king had one more question of the child: "How many seconds are there in eternity?"

And the boy replied: "In the hinterlands of Pommerania, there is a mountain made of the hardest diamond. It's one hour deep into the earth, one hour up toward the sky, one hour long and one hour wide. To this mountain comes a little bird, once every hundred years, to sharpen its beak. And when this bird has worn away the whole mountain, the first second of eternity has passed."

Eternity is one of those words that the dictionary just cannot do justice; infinite time; duration without beginning or end. It is a concept that man has struggled with, pardon the pun, since forever. Eternity is a question that, because of our very real immortality, every man asks? Eternity is the hope that every man clings too, and yet it is not a topic that we give much thought to during our every day, ordinary lives; perhaps we should be. Even the Christians who, prior to their conversion, dealt with the question of eternity on a very intimate level rarely think about eternity. Eternity, the promise of eternal life, is the very hope that fuels the fire in the Christian heart. Many Christians and Fleshians spend their time here on earth, which is a drop in the ocean of eternity, seeking the perceived promise of financial prosperity, in search of the acceptance of this world, or on a quest to conquer some meaningless personal mountain. As the fable insinuates Eternity is Forever, should we not be preparing for eternity?

I struggled with writing this article; I kept getting off point. It was so easy to start discussing the clich� eternity topics, "Where are you spending eternity", and "Why do we waste our time building treasure here", and "You cannot take it with you", but these were not points I was trying to make. Of course the point that I want to make is not something that Christians, or Fleshians for that matter, want to think about. Read the fable above again and really think about just how long eternity is; "Eternity is Forever". As Christians it is not about where we are going to be for eternity after all a promise from God is a promise from God. If you believe and have asked Jesus Christ into your life the Bible says that you are going to Heaven and that is good enough for most Christians. What if there was more to think about? Maybe you have heard the joke about the new arrival to Hell who is asked to make the choice between three rooms; each room is filled with the various sins he committed on earth. The new arrival is asked to make a choice as to which of the three rooms he would like to spend eternity in. Are there these kind of choices in Heaven, obviously much better choices, but can our actions today determine how we spend our eternity in Heaven?

It cannot be just about getting into Heaven; the majority of the New Testament is not focused on how to get into Heaven, but rather how to prepare for Heaven. Why is it that every contributor to the New Testament speaks of a treasure in Heaven, our reward in Heaven, or winning a crown in Heaven if the prize were just about getting into Heaven? Getting into Heaven is the gift, the promise, and how incredibly wonderful that gift is; this is why I made the choice at 15 to give my life to Jesus, so that I would not have to spend a second in Hell. This is not, however, the reward, the prize, or the crown that is spoken of in scripture; I believe that these are the rooms that we will have to chose from. How we live today, how we prepare for our eternity now will determine our reward in Heaven, or, will determine what rooms we have to choose from? The Apostle Paul suggests this in 2 Corinthians 5:10 when he writes, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." Maybe it is not the choice behind door number one or door number three, but we are going to get "what is due" us (our reward) and our reward, "whether good or bad", is dependent on what we do now, "while in the body". Now think about the fable again. If "Eternity is Forever" and our reward is the opportunity to choose how we spend all of eternity; then should we not be concerned about the prize?

If we believe that the gift of eternal life is the "reward in Heaven" that is spoken of and you choose to just be a good little Christian and live a good, moral life then you shall receive your "reward". You will get into Heaven because God's Word is true, but are you really interested with spending all eternity with your hands in your pockets (if they have pockets in Heaven) or do you think you might want more? I want more. I want to be in the front row as we are gathered to worship our Father so that I can feel the warmth and brightness of His Presence on my face. I want to sit next to Jesus at dinner every night and curl up under His wings as I rest. I want to walk in the garden with my Dad every day just as He intended for us to do from the beginning (Genesis 3:8). I have the gift of eternal life, but I want the prize as well. "Eternity is Forever" so how do you want to spend eternity?

Do you understand what your calling is? I believe that my calling is to make Christians think about their Christianity. Like many others I doubted my ability to make Christians think, how could I do that when I did not know what I thought about Christianity, but when you trust in God and His will all things can happen. These articles are short, little teasers, to make you think. I have posted a much deeper, and more thorough study on this topic and others on my website [http://www.disciplemaker1.com]. Look for the heading "My Articles". My website is also my business, an online Christian bookstore, which offers even more information on this topic. Finally we can discuss this topic and others on Facebook and my Hyperspirituality Blog.

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