This quote is from the movie, Gladiator, were Russell Crowe as the Roman General Maximus is addressing his troops before battle. This inspirational speech carries such weight and truth in it. Looking at the very first part of his speech "What We Do In Life" to me signifies how we need to examine what we are doing on a daily basis. Our actions, our words, our goals and our purpose.
The second part of Maximus' speech "Will Echo In Eternity" refers to what I believe is every deliberate choice that we make in this life will surely have a major significance on how we spend eternity. So what is the difference between the temporal being this life and eternal being eternity. Well, in our temporal life, on average, we can expect to live, hopefully, into our 80s, and if Blessed, even reach our 90's. How often have we said "I can not believe how time has flown by!" When we look at our children it seems as it was only yesterday that we held them in our arms and now they are off to school!. This temporal life is truly fleeting. This reminds me of what the Apostle James stated in James 4 verse 14 when he wrote "But you don't have a clue what tomorrow will bring. For your fleeting life is but a warm breath of air that is visible in the cold only for a moment and vanishes again". Emphasizing what the character Maximus said in the movie "What we do in life will echo in eternity" since we have a mere 80 to 90 years to determine what our eternity will be.
Now, what is Eternity? Well, in its simplest definition Eternity is timeless, endless, without beginning or end. So, how often do we contemplate the importance on how we live our lives, especially when we are advancing in age? What does Eternity have in store for us? Lets look at a well know Parable mentioned in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 16. we have the poor beggar, Lazarus, and the rich man. Jesus shares this story of a notable wealthy man who lived a life of extravagant luxury. Basically, her lived for himself with no consideration for others. Laying outside the entrance of the rich man's house was an exceptionally unfortunate man called Lazarus who only hoped to eat what fell from the rich man's table. The rich man was very unsympathetic to dilemma of Lazarus offering him no love, no help and no compassion. In time they both met their mortal ends and passed on to the afterlife. Now, this is why I am emphasizing the importance of "What We Do In Life Will Echo In Eternity!". Lazarus was welcomed into Heaven while the rich man was condemned to Hell. Pleading to father Abraham in Heaven asked that Lazarus come down from Heaven to cool his tongue with a drop of water to reduce his agony in this fire. This Bible story is a very powerful reminder of What We Do in this Life will surely Echo in Eternity. Now, I am not attempting to be confrontational in this blog since that is truly not my intent. However, my question to those people who choose to ignore this message and I state the following with a much humility as possible. "What If I Am Right!" What if at the end of this temporal life we are not standing in the presence of a Holy God who is examining what we did in this life. Saying "Oh I was a good person" doesn't cut it. What we may think is good "holds no water" compared to God's holy standards. The things we did in our lives will be judged according to His standards. Trust me when I say that we will definitely fall short on that scale! Think of Holiness as never, ever, having a thought or action that's offensive. I can honestly say that I have fallen short of God's standards numerous times today alone let alone my entire life!
As a Christian I am going to briefly discuss the central theme of Christianity. Basically, someone has to pay the penalty of living a sinful life. Now imagine someone has committed a heinous crime and is being sentenced accordingly. They will receive a sentence that fits their crime. From a Christian's perspective that penalty was paid when Jesus took our sins upon himself when he was crucified and shed his precious blood. As a Christian I am confident that when I stand in the presence of a Holy God I will have Jesus standing next to me as my perfect intercessor.
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is taken from Galatians 2 verse 20 which states "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live (my old sinful self/nature) but Christ lives in me (Born Again). The life I now live in the body I live by Faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" As a Christian I now live a life that allows me to look through the eyes of my Heavenly Father who loved us so much that He gave us His most precious gift His Son Jesus so that we can have a blessed Eternity in Heaven.
I encourage everyone to seriously consider their final destination. Eternity is forever and I hope and pray that you will seriously reflect on what I have spoken about in this blog and video. May God Bless you and your loved ones.
Amen
About The Author: Steve is a Christian Blogger, Videographer, and Personal Trainer. His content creation focuses on Societal Lifestyles, Health/Fitness and Faith.
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