Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

Background

I like to cook. My family especially likes it when I bake. And it doesn’t have to be anything too special or fancy. A good pan of brownies or a sheet or two of cookies, or just a batch of cupcakes, is all they really want. And while I’m making them, at least one of the kids will usually come and want to help. They love to crack the eggs, pour in the oil and water, dump the brownie mix in, and then stir it all up. That just gets them that much more excited about the brownies that will be coming out of the oven in a few minutes. But one thing they’ve never done is tell me they can’t wait to eat the eggs that went into the batter. They’ve never licked their lips in anticipation of tasting the vegetable oil they poured into the bowl. They know that they added all of those things for the sole purpose of enjoying the brownies that would soon be ready.

Application

We’ve got a lot of ingredients going into our daily bowls. Some of them are very important and require responsibility and discipline. Some offer visible and substantial reward. Others are less noticeable but just as fulfilling. But none of them are the brownies. As necessary and vital as anything that you do or possess might be, it is all just eggs and oil and mix. Eternity is what is written on the box, and that is what everything that goes in our bowls is intended for. God placed eternity in our hearts with the intent that everything else would be used for that purpose. But that’s where we come in. Our sights aren’t set quite all the time where His are. We don’t focus on His beginning and end, and our attention instead settles on the here and now. He gives us passion and energy and money and success, and we turn around and pour them back into this world, while eternity screams for our attention. God has made everything beautiful in its time and for its purpose, but we get to experience that only when we live out the eternity that He placed in our hearts. That is His perfect recipe.

Charge

As we seek Him today, reconsider your resources in light of God’s eternal plan for you. Include the eternal destinies of those that He wants you to impact for Him.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words