… to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. — Galatians 1:5
One of the dangers of being too preoccupied with the busyness of life is that we pay too little attention to matters of eternity. Constant focus on daily responsibilities and juggling between work-life, home-life and social-life means that we have almost no mental resources left to ponder how life will be when time will cease. Of course, being time-bound creatures, we might not even know how to think about such a state of timelessness. But Paul gives us a clue in his opening greeting to the Galatian church.
“…to whom be the glory forevermore” is not wishful thinking or hoping against hope. Rather, it is the present proclamation of a future reality that is guaranteed. A future that is wholly, unapologetically and eternally committed to the Father’s glory. Regardless of the outcomes of global politics and military alliances in the here and now, regardless of financial and moral meltdowns that appear on the horizon, the world is headed towards an eternity which has a singular agenda: the ceaseless declaration of the awesomeness of God. That’s locked in. Nothing and nobody can change that.
Given this certainty, we need to ask ourselves whether the agenda of our lives today is aligned to the agenda of eternity. Is the way we’re living in the present in tune with the way life will be ‘forevermore’? Are our hopes and dreams in harmony with what is destined to occur in the world to come? May the manifesto of our lives be on the same page as the agenda of eternity. So that we fashion our days after the words of British cricketer and missionary, CT Studd:
Oh let my love with fervour burn, and from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
Contributed by Peter Rufus