Built on a True Foundation

For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God.
~ Hebrews 11:10 ~

Surprisingly, losing the eternal perspective is a risk whether we face trials or prosperity. In the Old Testament, Moses warned the Israelites that once they found themselves blessed beyond measure in the promised land, they must “beware lest thou forget the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:12).

In the Book of Mormon, Mormon stated the problem when he wrote, “Yea, and we may see at the very time when [God] doth prosper his people, … then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity” (Helaman 12:2).

President Brigham Young (1801–77) issued a similar warning. He said: “The worst fear that I have about [members of this Church] is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth.”

Anciently, prophets used tangible objects to serve as reminders of God’s goodness to help the people maintain a long-term perspective. Moses admonished, “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 11:18).
~ Dale G. Renlund – Maintaining an Eternal Perspective, Ensign March 2014 ~

Our mortal life is a brief moment in time when it comes to terms of an eternal perspective. Those who have discovered a more mindful and spiritual Christian life sit in God’s divine fellowship where they often meditate on His mind and accept His love. Rather than attempting to build heaven in the few decades one has, an individual will be freed to make sacrifices now, knowing that an everlasting heaven awaits them. I will no longer make decisions that provide a present security and future retirement in mind. My view and mindset is upon that which is everlasting and it is one with a full view of God’s divine grace and sovereignty. The Holy Spirit fills me with such eternal thoughts and sweet comfort.

What stands in the way of such perspective? Fear. I am more often afraid that I may not have enough to take care of my own if I devote to living all out for God. I wonder if God will lead me to hard fields and potentially risky crosses as He did our Savior and His disciples. I fear the consequences of a completely Christ-like life. And so I strive to build up for me things that bring comfort and security now and hope for the best eternal mansion down the road.

I know that our Heavenly Father’s promises allow each one of us to go ahead and consider the mansion down the road as being ours. The Savior even told his disciples “In my Father’s house there are many mansions…I go and prepare a place for you.” (see John 14:2). I do not have to obsess about my own security now when there is blessed assurance of an everlasting home that cannot be taken away. I may put up with a few years of sacrifice, toil, pain, and service with the calm confidence that my citizenship is elsewhere. i am free to serve God at whatever cost, because nothing can cost my inheritance. I know where this life will lead me and that it will never end.

Forsake fear. Each one of us, who are mindful and living an abundant spiritual Christian life, has in the back of our minds, from time to time, a little voice that cautions against a completely sacrificial life. That is not our Heavenly Father’s voice! His mind, which He shares with us, will overcome such thoughts. The Holy Spirit, if we trust Him, will assure each one of us that our Heavenly Father’s promises are certain and that this present mortal abode is a place of joyful sacrifice. How do I receive such assurance? With an eternal perspective. I know what counts, and I am ale to live with my gaze on the city with eternal foundations set in place.

Have you lost sight of your own personal eternal perspective? How does such perspective change the way you view life today? Are you struggling with God’s promises to live a life consecrated unto Him alone? What fear holds you back from having an assurance through such an eternal and everlasting perspective?

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Thank you – Damascus Way Recovery