Investing in Forever in the Temporal...

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. -Isaiah 40:8

I was pondering this verse, and thought I would share my musings. So often, it seems my life is running on fast forward and my thoughts are consumed by things of the moment...what we'll have for dinner, school lessons, running the kids to ballet and scouts, what errands need to be run....the list goes on and on. These are the things that scream at me for attention day by day, and they are the stuff of life. But in the end, they are often just stuff. And in the end, much of it will burn away someday.
Such a dilemma I face as a Christian: how do I live in the here and now with a vision for the eternal? It's so easy for the eternal to get lost in the shuffle of the temporal. I suppose the only way it can be done is intentionally. I can't "let it slide" while I deal with the here and now, or pretty soon the here and now will appear to be all that there is. If that were to truly be the case, what a sad state we would all live in. To imagine this fallen world and all the suffering within it as the final answer in itself would be quite disturbing to me indeed.
But that is not what I believe. I believe the Bible is God's word to humanity, and we can put our hope in the wisdom it offers to us. This verse in Isaiah is a gentle, loving reminder to "keep the main things the main things." It should season every relationship I have with grace and love.
Will I view my spouse and children the same way if I view them through an eternal lens?
I think the view of the eternal changes things. It reminds us that so often, the things we allow to steal our joy or make us angry are foolish and wasteful, that we would choose otherwise if we knew that today was the last day we had with our loved ones. We would choose forgiveness over hatred. We would choose laughter over pouting (yes as an adult I know how to pout, unfortunately). We would choose grace over legalism....keeping score of every wrong committed against us and using it to heap judgement on those around us.
I am so thankful when I view the cross, not for the pain it caused my saviour, but because of the love I see so openly displayed there. If every day I could filter all of my life through the cross, I think my life would be one that honors my Lord and ministers to those around me. This is the highest purpose I can attain in my walk with Christ--to live my life in constant light of the Cross.