According to Wikipedia, the original name of Longview, Texas was Earpville until men stood on a hill and looked out over the town and made the reply, "What a long view." Hence the name Longview. A prison sits on that historic hill today.
Unfortunately, too many of us never get up on the hill of God and see the long view and stay imprisoned to the consequences of short-sighted living. We live our lives for the here-and-now and our immediate gratification and so waste our lives on fleeting pleasures. We liveour lives for what we want now and even in time we end up regretting it. We need to live in God’s “longview.”
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (Matthew 16:25 NLT)
Living in longview means we will give our lives to God for the purposes of eternity. My human conceived purposes and plans are temporal and only impact time. God’s purposes and plans are eternal. And God wants me to engage in activities that contribute to fulfilling His eternal purposes and plans.
The first step to living in longview is to make a complete surrender of my life to God. I must surrender my plans and goals and live my life earnestly seeking to know and live out God’s plans and goals for my life. This is the only life that constitutes an invested life. When I live my way, by my plans, for my goals, I end up with a wasted life.
It’s one thing to say I am going to live to fulfill God’s purposes and plans for my life, it’s another thing altogether to do it. You see, I think many of us have made the commitment to live in longview but we never move there. We stay put on the edge of living for eternity, making short visits into longview but the majority of our time is spent living in the moment. We never fully “get it” and move into lonview and get settled into a lifestyle of living for eternity.
So, if we are going to live an invested life rather than a wasted life, we will have to choose to give our time to God for the purposes of eternity. Remember, this was the idea of Ephesians 5:15-16. Read it again.
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16making the most of your time (redeeming the time), because the days are evil. (Eph.5:15-16 NAU)The point here is that we live in a time that is characterized by evil, short-sighted living. We need to use our minutes wisely so they are invested, not wasted. This is a conscious choice. Again, I feel I cannot overemphasize the importance of being intentional, discerning, and determined in the use of our time. Don’t just visit longview on Sundays in a church service. Move in. Make every minute count for eternity.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Next: (7) All the Time You Need
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