Spirit vs. Body

I am not a body.  I am a spirit confined to a body on this earth.  When my body dies, my spirit will be released and I will enter eternity.  This is what happens to everyone - regardless of our station in life, race, or religion.  Though there are many differences in the teachings in different religions, it seems that all of them teach that when you die you go to a good place or bad place.  For those who believe what the Bible teaches, and I do, there are only two options - heaven and hell.  In heaven we will be with Jesus, our Savior, where we will live in eternal peace.  In hell, we are tormented day and night in a lake of fire. It is a sobering thought either way.

We are so obsessed with our bodies (keeping them healthy, young looking and attractive) that we miss the reason we are alive. Our bodies are given to us to provide a way to function while here on the earth,  and I do think we should do our best to take care of them.  But it is our spirit that we need to prepare for eternity.  Our bodies will cease to function and return to dust but our spirit will live on.   God's grace provides us with the time and opportunity to choose to follow Him so we can spend eternity with Him in the splendor of his Glory.  I recently read that of the people in America who claim to be Christians, only 5% are actually surrendered completely to the will of God.  The others add "Christianity" to their way of life.  The Bible tells us to "come out from among them and be ye separate."  It doesn't tell us to live however we want and add a little church and Jesus in for good measure.  In fact it says the opposite. "Whoever tries to save his life will lose it and whoever willingly lays down his life will be  saved."  This may sound crazy to some.  How can you give up your life and still have it?  The emphasis is on our eternal destination.  If we want a self centered life here, fulfilling the lusts of our flesh, we will ultimately be separated from God for eternity.  However, he tells us that if we give up our lives here and live for Him, we will live forever in heaven with Him.  So you see,  if we look at life as God does, we can see that it is eternity that should be our focus....not the few years we have on this earth.

So what is my point for these ramblings?  Simply to bring attention to the issue of body and spirit.  Think about where you will spend eternity.  No one knows when they will die.  If you are reading this, and are not sure where you'll go when you die, you still have an opportunity to make a decision that will change your destiny.  Do you have a relationship with Jesus today?  Are you trusting Him and Him only for your salvation - or are you trusting in that sinners prayer you said as a child, or baptism, or church membership?  Are you following Him and doing the will of the Father or are you living "however" you want Monday through Saturday, then putting on your church face and church clothes and going to church on Sunday so you can check off that box and feel like you're "okay?"

I like to keep things simple. We are alive for one reason - to make one decision that will determine our destiny.  It is the only decision that you will make in your lifetime that matters.  Who will you serve?  God? or yourself?  The choice is yours.  Choose wisely.