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Articles
Temporal verses Eternal
The bible contrasts two realms, temporal and eternal.
Isaiah 40: 7-8 tells us that “Surely the people are grass,” says Isaiah. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” In Matt. 6: 19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,” says Jesus, “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also”
Everything we experience in life will have either an eternal or temporal value.
The temporal is within time; it is the realm of change, instability and what passes away, subject to change, such as our physical bodies, material possessions, and worldly experiences. These are transient and will eventually pass away.Creation is time bound. Humans are also time bound (We grow up, grow old and die.) Psalm 90:10 says, the years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble they are soon gone, and we fly away. And still we live our lives seeking and consuming the temporal things that never last and leave us feeling emptier than we felt before indulging in them. Eternal is beyond time. Eternal is the realm of God, heaven, everlasting life and salvation. The eternal is promised to faithful followers of Jesus. God is Eternal: we read this in Psalm90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. We can get so wrapped up in our temporal life that we neglect our citizenship into God’s eternal salvation.
In Luke 10:40-41 we read of an example of Martha and Mary of how easy we dwell on the temporal like Mary, more than eternal, like Martha did. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, Temporal here shows how we easily we become distracted, anxious and troubled like Mary. We should do everything we do in view of eternity.
Before we speak, act, or do anything, we should ask, "Does this have eternal or temporal value?”
We must decide whether we will live for what is eternal or temporal. We must decide if we will choose light over darkness, life over death. It’s our choice. 1 John 3:4-10 explains it so well, Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Robby Cable
