Bible Poetry Reading Plan: Job 3-4
Eternity is in Our Hearts
Ecclesiastes 3:11b He [God] has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot
see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (NLT)
What is life going to be like after we die? For many of us, much of what we believe about heaven is
more like fairy tales and has been heavily influenced by the society that we live in. Typically there
are three types of people in the church. (1) Those that don’t know anything about heaven – and
admit it. You ask them to tell you about Heaven, and they’re honest, “I don’t know.” (2) Those who
think they know about Heaven – but are off the mark. (3) Those that have some really good ideas
about Heaven. Unfortunately, the third category is often the smallest group and often their thinking
is in the right direction but is vague and fuzzy. As Christians it is important that we have a firm
understanding of Heaven. Today’s verse tells us that we were made to be motivated by Heaven.
God didn’t plant the seed of eternity in our minds but in our hearts in order to motivate us to love
Him, serve Him, pray to Him and sacrifice for His Kingdom. When we let our picture of Heaven get
too fuzzy then it no longer does this for us. Instead, we find it hard to give up the hockey game to
go to cell group or we quit ministry because the workload gets too heavy. If our focus becomes
on eternity then we become willing to endure hardship or pain for the Kingdom’s cause. We lose
our addiction to selfish pleasures and comforts and begin to build into others and use our gifts and
talents for God’s glory.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Of the three categories of Christians listed above, which category would you fit into? Are you
happy with that or do you desire to grow in learning about Heaven?
2. What sorts of selfish pleasure and comforts do you think would be easier for you to overcome if
you spent more time and energy focusing on eternity and using your gifts for God’s glory?
3. We were made to be motivated by Heaven. Ask the Lord to grow in your heart a desire to learn
the truth about Heaven. Ask Him to open your eyes to see the truth about Heaven from the
Scriptures as you go through this month’s devotionals.
