What really is the point?

Over the last few months, I have had several thoughts running through my mind cause I've been faced with unusual and new trials.  A part of me was happy cause I felt like it was my faith growing and my spiritual life increasing, but at the same time, well, it was a trial so having to remain at peace and trust God through it all required some effort.

When these thoughts started to come, I found myself always saying 'God forbid' thinking to myself like 'Rubie how can you even think about something like that' and I would immediately find something to obstruct and take over that line of thought.

Well, it got more frequent and then I started to hear my spirit say it's okay to think about it, and then I thought maybe God wanted to reveal something to me through them.

So I decided to explore them more. I confronted the thoughts in my mind like a person would sit with another person to talk.

And it just began to flow.

I started questioning myself of why we have to learn so much in this life, why we have to grow and pass through certain phases. I was more drawn to the fact that why do we, particularly us who call ourselves Christians tend to face more trails than our fair share when we come to the realisation that 'we are in the world but not of the world'

And it went on and on. I began to reminisce on where I had been a few years go, looked at where I was and thought about my future and I started asking questions again, is it all that there is to this?

A thought flashed through my mind and it was a phrase from Rick Warrens 'A Purpose driven life' which says 'This life is just a dress rehearsal for the real thing. Eternity'

It played over and over in my head and it all began to make sense.

I'm going to attempt to put the thoughts the Holy Spirit placed in me in words, and I hope more than anything that you understand it just as He has opened my eyes to see it. It'll answer ablot of your hearts questions that you also might not want to confront.

This Life is a phase like the way we go through other phases in it. It doesn't end here. As a matter of fact, It didn't  even start here. 

When you imagine heaven, what do you think of? Do you imagine just the angels and divine beings or you picture yourself there too? and when you picture yourself, what do you see yourself doing?

These are questions I've had to answer recently and they only brought me to face the fact that I wasn't as prepared for heaven as I thought I was.

We might live 100 years on this earth, but we will spend 3 million years or beyond in eternity. The dictionary defines eternity as 'infinite or unending time'. You can actually run mad trying to think of how far eternity might go.

The reasons why we go through what we go through the reasons why we learn the way we do, the reason why we have to love and not just tolerate each other on earth, the reason why we have to be Christ-like in thinking, words and behaviour is to get you ready for life in heaven. It is all preparation for that destination.

We're so so caught up in the world and its dealings that we almost always forget that this isn't where it ends. And you see the thing is that when Jesus returns to take us home, all He's doing is literally taking us home. He's not going to change characters and attitudes to make it 'heaven-fit' He's just going to take His true Christ-like disciples and go home, which is why we need to build that Christ-likeness here on earth. It's the whole point.

To get to a place where there is no difference between your life and that of Jesus. Loving like Him, caring like Him, obeying like Him, serving like Him and doing everything like Him. When you understand that you're going to heaven 'as you are' you'll begin to think 'can i enter heaven with myself like this?' Your eyes will be open to your heart and motives and you'll begin to see what holiness, righteousness and purity means.

This lif and all that is in it is preparing us for eternity and all that is in it. The way you are now, would it be aceptable in the kingdom of God? Would the state of your heart pass through an eternity test in heaven? can anyone look at your life at a glance and know that 'this one is for God' ?

We have a lot of reevaluation and questioning to do with ourselves. You actually need to get your mind off of this world and begin to realise what really matters,

I'll recommend the book 'A purpose driven life'. 

I had read it about 2 years ago but while these thoughts came to mind, it's like the book was brought alive in my memory again.