Have you heard the phrase about the person who is ‘so heavenly minded that they are no earthly use?’ Well for a moment I would like you to flip this on its head. Have you ever considered that we get so caught up in day to day living, coping with family, jobs and our future that we don’t give a thought to the ‘heavenly minded’ idea of ‘eternity’ – that we might in fact be only alive, in this reality, for a short while, and yet eternity is forever?

All three of the world’s great monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) agree with this notion and it seems to me that we need to remind the very small minority of the western world’s atheistic rationalistic population that more than half of the world’s population retain a faith in One God, and that it’s arrogant to assert that these 3.8 billion people are uneducated or unscientific.

The three great monotheistic religions agree that ‘eternity’ has been placed in our hearts and our beings; all three point to the ‘eternity’ that is to come when old age, illness or accident end our mortal lives. As they say, ‘only two things can we be sure of: death and taxes.’

I was behind a car in the busy Sydney streets the other day which had stuck to it the simple bumper sticker ‘Ultimate Peace’. If we are all honest with ourselves, each of us are searching for ultimate peace or fulfilment. Some fortunate individuals may say they’ve found it but I’m sure that if we are really honest there will be some form of “unsatisfactoriness” (indeed a Buddhist concept “dukka”) niggling away inside of us. We tend to blame a number of things for this niggle (Victor Frankl calls this our “existential vacuum”). The writers of our sacred scriptures would say this is an indication that such yearnings point us to what is to come, and reminds us that we are indeed eternal beings.

This gives us a very sober and hopeful perspective on life and allows us to prioritise our life accordingly. We realise that material wealth, social status, and family stability are nice but will never fully deal with our deepest yearnings. Such peace and fulfilment is deeply spiritual and an eternal reality.

Yes, it’s ok to seek a fulfilling life on earth. We don’t have to run out into the wild and become a hermit practising ascetic rituals (although some of my colleagues do wonder whether this is what I am going to do from the end of 2015 as I leave Newington for the bush). Yes it’s ok to pursue material comfort as long as this doesn’t become our sole focus and top priority.

This mortal life will come to an end, and some of you, like me who have passed the “half-time” whistle, get daily reminders of creaking joints and weary muscles, and the fact that our bodies are winding down. An eternal focus allows us to know with great confidence that there is more to come, ultimate fulfilment, once life on planet earth is wrapped up.

“Therefore do not worry what you shall eat or what you shall wear – can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6).

“Run with perseverance the race that is set before you looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 12).

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3).

Rev David Williams
College Chaplain