Eternity's-eye View

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

 Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, tells a story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic.

A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic.  She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off.  She was granted three minutes and told that if she were gone any longer, they would have to leave without her.  

The woman ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle.  She raced through the gambling room, past all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep.  She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed.  She grabbed three small oranges.  She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.  

That seems incredible, because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a whole crate of oranges over even the smallest diamond.  But death had boarded the Titanic.  One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values.  Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless.  Worthless things had become priceless.  And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.

Oh, dear friends, when we look at things in eternity’s-eye view, our perspective and values totally change.  Most humans have their head in the sand of this old earth and cannot see the starry heaven above in all its splendor.  

Apostle Paul is very clear when he writes. He lost whatever was gain to him personally apart from God. Certainly Paul had a great reputation as a scholar (Acts 26:24) and a religious leader. He was proud of his Jewish heritage and his religious achievements. All of these things were valuable to him; but he measured these "treasures" against what Jesus Christ had to offer, and he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but "refuse" compared to what he had in Christ. Apostle Paul looked at things from Eternity’s-Eye view. So, he considered the knowledge of Christ and Fellowship with Christ as priceless when compared to the reputation of the world.

In a sense, the Titanic symbolizes the world, which is passing away.  During our brief sojourn as passengers on spaceship Earth, let us only concentrate on those things that truly matter for eternity. I leave you with these famous words of Jim Elliot "He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." A Bird’s-eye view gives us the view of an entire location. And an Eternity’s-eye view changes our perspectives and keeps our priorities right. May God give us an Eternity’s-eye view!

Blessings

Daniel Solomon Raju