11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11-14
Paul wrote several letters, each unique and focusing on the struggles of the recipient. There was no one-size-fits-all. Each letter was personalized in order to build up and instruct the brother(s)/sister(s) on the receiving end. For instance, he instructs Timothy to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession.”
Paul understood that they only had one opportunity to get it right. One opportunity to build up treasure in heaven that lasts for all eternity. People work so hard here on earth, building up treasure and wealth that someone else will get instead of building up true wealth that lasts forever.
Jesus warns us not to work for wealth that fades but to build true wealth so that we will have a good eternity (Matthew 6:19-21). In other words, don’t waste your time working for fool’s gold. The only thing you will have in eternity is what you send on ahead. If you send nothing on ahead of you, you will have nothing.
Well, I’m sure you will have something, but nothing compared to what God has in store for you. We need to work now to build up our treasure. Don’t miss out on the best and most profitable investment ever, YOUR ETERNITY!
Paul understood the gravity of the situation when he told the Corinthian church that he worked harder, was imprisoned more, and had more hardships than the other apostles. Paul was sure of what he had done. He did not waste his time with useless things. He did not get distracted by temporal wealth and position. He was hyper-focused on the eternal.
We only have this one life to do God’s will and impact the world. We can’t waste our time working to gain the world. The harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. These temporal things won’t last forever. We can’t take that into eternity, but what we can take into eternity is what we do for the LORD. Each soul we impact for the better, each life we change, each soul we harvest, each seed we plant, and each trial we make it through is building up eternal treasure. Don’t be distracted by the things of the world. Instead, focus on the things of God and His Kingdom.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek the Eternal.