sunrise epiphanies

Last night I woke up around 4am with this dream... Normally, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I don't have a hard time finding my way to the kitchen or the washroom. I don't need to turn on any lights. The moonlight that comes through the windows is often very strong. However, tonight, when I stood up at 4am there was no light at all. The sky was heavy and dark. I couldn't see anything. I came back to bed and fear crippled in. I thought this could be the end. Maybe Jesus was coming back, maybe this was the end of the world. Was I ready? Was I ready to face Jesus? Had I exhausted God's purposes for my life? Before going to bed last night I was reading You and Me Forever from Francis and Lisa Chan and there was this little note about keeping eternity in perspective every single day of our lives and in all we do. When I woke up to a dark room and considered how fragile life is and how life really starts with eternity, it was like scales fell off from my eyes. Looking into life decisions through a focus in eternity changes everything we hope to be or become, have, say or do. For the last couple of years I have benefited immensely from a particular friendship with someone that longs for Jesus and his return. Somehow our conversations were always about it. It was easy to keep eternity in perspective. But because of distance and life circumstances, we haven't been so close in the last couple of months. Now I realize how I lost focus on eternity. It is so easy to not make anything out of our days, to just live randomly, like we are given ten thousand years to live. Life is so fragile. Life is so short and our numbers are not random. Our days are numbered, each one of them. We might live 100 years and in the next 100 years we probably won't even be remembered. Our parents will be gone, we will be gone, our children will be gone. While we live, we have a mission, we have a purpose and we ultimately have a hope. Living with eternity in our minds and hearts leads us to the doors that God wants us to open. It helps us in our sanctification process - it leads us to Jesus. If we think that today is our last day on earth, we don't want to live randomly. We want to be more like Jesus, we want to wear the clothes of righteousness, we want to praise him like the angels, we want to have an upright heart and spend our time doing something that will say more about who he is. I was convinced tonight at 4am of how self-absorved I have been in my own little life, in my own desires, my wants and projects. I was not convicted that the choices I am making aren't pleasing to God, but somehow in the midst of looking forward to do his will, I lost sight of the greater picture. What about you? Are you getting ready for the best part of your life - when you get to stand face to face with Jesus?