Saturday 19 Apr 2014

April 19: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Key Verse: 1 Peter 4:7
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Devotion:
We don’t have that long to live on earth when we compare our lifespan against the eternity we have with Christ. We may be able to compare our lifespans against animals, insects and birds and see that we seem to live a reasonable life, but we should not be caught up in our temporary lives on earth but aiming towards our eternity afterward. This is actually very serious when we put our minds to it and we need to treat it with due attention.

Living your life as full as your can as a mere man on earth may seem like a good idea and many subscribe to living life to the fullest; but what gain do you have when that life comes to an end if you have nothing to look forward to. God has given us understanding and He has planted the notions in our consciences that we do have something to look forward to after our lives on earth; it is not a vain imagination!

If we spend all our time worrying about things and bearing grudges against one another we are not going to have a very pleasant life here on earth. We certainly will not win friends and influence people in the right way. Instead we may find out that we make people run in the opposite direction to God! God would rather that we live our lives loving people and sharing the Gospel so that more will get to know Christ and more will be able to spend eternity in heaven instead of being lost forever.

Instead we should be looking at the gifts that God has given us and living our lives by applying those gifts in whatever ways that we can, sharing them and giving God the glory due for allowing us those gifts in the first place. What good is the simple skill of being able to make fire unless we are going to use it for the good of others? How else will others get to know what sharing is all about unless we share our gifts with others ourselves? God has never been slack in offering us gifts and allowing us to do many things in our lives, why should we be slack in working with Him?

Points to Ponder:
How long do you plan on living?

Do you know you will live that long?