I am here on earth for just a little while. Psalm 119:19 (TEV)
Life on earth is a temporary assignment. The Bible says, "For we were born but yesterday... Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow." To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be her long, so don't get too attached. Ask God help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more."
This in not your permanent home or final destination. You're just passing through, just visiting earth. David said, "I am but a foreigner here on earth," and Peter explained, "If you call God your father, live your time as temporary residents on earth."
God says his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do. "All they think about is this life here on earth . But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." Real believers understand that there is far more than just the few years we live on this planet.
Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery. The Bible says, "you're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way."
Sadly, many Christian have betrayed their King and his kingdom. They have foolishly concluded that because they live on earth it's their home. It's not. The Bible is clear: "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul." God warns us to not get too attached to what's around us because it is temporary. We're told, "Those infrequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away." We are preparing for something even better. "The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.
The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.
In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth-is not our final home, we were created for something much better. Never focus on temporary crowns.
"Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner."
When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home- you'll go home.
--This world is not my home.
--"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."