Choosing Eternal

Martha was flustered and bothered. She was struggling to balance her many conflicting priorities. Mary’s awakened heart zeroed in on one priority – a hunger for Christ’s presence. In Luke 10:41, Jesus said something amazing about this: Mary’s choice to absorb his presence would never be taken away; it was to be an eternal gift to her that she would enjoy forever.

And so it is for all of God’s children: experiences of the divine presence fill the eternal temple of our lives and fulfill what St Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

Our bodies, our possessions and even our work on earth will fade away. The inner temple of our being is what we will take forward, and the extent to which we fill it with Christ’s presence determines our peace, joy and satisfaction in this life, and our treasure in the life to come.

The many things in life that fluster and bother us will quickly be forgotten when the end of our earthly days arrive. The goals we pursue will fade and even our legacy on earth will fall into forgotten history in the shadow of eons. The only thing we will take with us into eternity is the relationship we’ve built with God; the degree to which we’ve filled the temple of our lives with Christ’s presence.

Let that be our focus in this new year.

The video contains a 15 minute talk and a 20 minute guided meditation to help fill our hearts with God’s presence.

We have a weekly group that practices Centering Prayer by video call. You can learn more here – on how to join or how to replay guided meditation sessions from this group.