Devotion Booklets for Seasons of the Church Year Lent 2018 | Page 18

Eternal Value
Tuesday, February 27th
James 4:13-15
(Activity: Have someone grab a piece of paper and something to draw with -- colored markers for each
family member make it better. In the middle of the of paper draw a timeline that starts around when
Jesus came year 0AD all the way to 2500AD dividing it in 500 year increments. Starting around their
birth year, have everyone fill in how long they potentially will live.)
Even if we live 80, 90, or even 100 years our lifespan will end up being only a small dot. What does that
say about us? In the grand scheme of history our lives turn out only to be a tiny dot on a timeline. That's
what our Bible verse reminds us of today, "you are a mist that appears for a little while and then
vanishes."
That doesn't mean our lives are insignificant or worthless. Our lives are valuable. We show that by
what we do to care for it and set great ambitions for our life here. Yet, we are mindful that our time on
this earth is temporary and fleeting compared to the rest of history! Who will remember us 100 years
from now? Anyone? When our time comes to an end, we die. We are forgotten. Our great earthly
ambitions die with us.
(Activity: Look again at the timeline you drew. Have each person draw their own line below the first
timeline. Start on the year they were born. At the end of the line draw an arrow.)
Look again at the timeline you drew. At the end of this timeline is an arrow. What does that arrow
mean? It means the line keeps going. It never stops. That's what God gives us. Rather than allowing that
small dot (first timeline) be the history of our life, God gives us life that never ends. How? In his love
sent his Son to die making our lives valuable, eternally valuable. He gave us an eternal future in Christ!
It was God's will that Jesus live for us and die in our place. It is his will that our life with him would
never end -- a never-ending line!
(Activity: Circle your eternal life lines.)
Wouldn't you agree these are most important for us? 80-100 years of a good life on earth may be good,
but a good life for eternity is better! God would agree! It would be foolish to get caught up in ambitions
of this life that might endanger or distract us from the certainty of the coming life. It would be foolish
to put off building our relationship with our heavenly Father who WANTS us to be saved (1 Timothy
2:4). That is why we joyfully say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that," because it is for
our eternal good!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, in your love you sent your Son so we might have eternal life with you. Direct
us to put aside selfish ambitions and those things that lead us away from you. Strengthen us to walk
according to your will so we can be certain of the life that has no end. In Jesus name we pray. Amen
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