Making Decisions After Eternal Values

​When you are faced with a decision to make, what criteria do you  base your choices on?

Many of us have heard about the young ruler in scripture, let’s have a closer look:

Matthew 19: 16 – 23
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

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​19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
 
From the above account, the young man just wanted to know “how he can obtain eternal life” (verse 16), as that was the  question. Jesus gave him the answer in to enter into  “life” in verses 18 to 19.
The young man then proceeded to ask if he lacked anything else.

Jesus then gave this young man an option to have a deeper commitment to the things of God. Not just “entering into life”, but to begin to lay up treasure in heaven. This young man, only wanted “life, i.e. eternal life” but was not interested in going any further than that, because it took a deeper level of commitment. This level of commitment involves making decisions in line with eternal realities.

This analogy is a reflection of so many lives today. Some people yes, accept Jesus Christ as their saviour but want to do things their own way.  They are not prepared to “take up the cross and follow the Lord”. They want to remain as believers, but not disciples. And yes, while they will make heaven their home they may have no treasure in heaven. Why? Because their decisions are based on the temporary which soon will all fade away.

 “To have treasure in heaven requires a different level of commitment. A person needs to pattern their life and make decisions after eternal realities”.

So what is your level of commitment to the Lord? How do you make your decisions when confronted with different choices? Are you pursuing the agenda of the Lord for your life or are you just doing your own thing? Do you just want to go to heaven and have little or no rewards laid up? The choice is yours, and now is the time to make those decisions.

The Lord loves us so much and has great rewards for those who obey Him.

2 Corinthians 4; 18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
 
Everything we see down here is temporal. Its only our works that will follow us (Rev 14;13).
Lets pattern our lives and make decisions after eternal realities.

We need to be fully committed to the Lord and focus on true treasure.. Anything the Lord directs us to do is for the advancement of the Kingdom of God and for bringing on many other sons unto glory.

​Bisi Oladipupo