a christian look at etenity and how it affects us today

as a young Christian i was always told about eternity in heaven and i always used to wonder why Christians didn't focus on it more. then I quit this type of thinking for a while because i felt like there was no real reason to live with this paradigm. as of late i have started to realize that hey, one day we will all, every one of us, stand before Jesus and have our lives evaluated by him. yes we are saved by grace if we have faith and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior but what about beyond that? it seems like today almost everyone, including Christians, are living with this idea of success that if we graduate college, get a high paying job, and live comfortable that that is what it is all about and that is what makes someone "successful". but when we die, and stand before Jesus, NONE of this will matter, at all. when we die we leave it all behind. all of it, and i don't care what religion you are, this is true. so why do we live like it matters? why not spend our lives pursuing what the Jesus tells us will give us eternal reward like fasting, praying, and reading the word? what is your opinion?

 

Actually we don't even need that stuff, we just need faith. We are saved by grace through faith. Have faith, and you have grace. Receive God's grace, and you have eternal life.

 

i know we just need faith to be saved. thats not my point. im saying why do so many Christians then waste their life in pursuit of useless things when they could be storing up treasure in Heaven and bringing others to Christ?

 

I guess we need something to keep us busy. Meditation is supposed to improve our everyday activities not become them. We need to be productive in order to survive.

 

It was just bunch of BS, forget about it and get on with your life.

 

Christians are not exempt from being preoccupied with wordly pursuits. The Bible warns us to not get caught up with the cares of this world. When we do, we lose our joy.

Life is a journey; many Christians need to uncover for themselves what really matters.

 

I'm not worried about "storing up treasures"...faith doesn't come from works, Works come out of faith.

 

Faith is simply avoiding the truth.

You're going to end up in the ground with the rest of us.

 

That's not where I'm going to end up...however it will be where my body goes...

 

@ Linksales as a agnostic I believe it is possible achieve what might be called eternity, immortality, etc....

.......but not through or by any of the modern religions though.

 

Noone escapes Karma., Maya And Karma Are interrelated., Whatever faith you belong to

 

I think we need to live our lives with a view to eternity. That is, crack on with the life God has laid out for you, keeping Him the focal point of everything you do inasmuch as you can, allowing for slip-ups of course, but keep in mind the eternal perspective of where you are going and where the people around you are going to go - respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to flow through you daily so that you draw on His strength and not your own. It's a mad world, but not yet God-forsaken.

Dunno about other faiths, but that's my take on it.

 

Its all mental kids.
Even Karma is actually Dependant on your mindset, not what you do.
You talk to a high level hindu he will tell you that its your mindset the moment of death which dictates where your energy goes.
Which is supposed to be based on how you live your life, but its simply a case of how you view yourself.
"by your conscience you will be judged"
Which is another way of saying, "where the mind goes, energy follows"
Aka, Its all mental.
But I dont think you kids are ready for the real answer yet.

 

You Are Completely right, Mind Matters, Atleast as per hinduism, Everything is related to Mind., But the Mind as per hinduism will be able to think(mind flow) only as per karma (which decides everything including the body the soul enters).,

 

Karma is simply an energy dynamic, it affects you no more than you let it affect your mind and the mind of the universe at large.
So by simply focusing your mind, you are at least halfway there.
Your actions are not nearly as important as your thoughts and emotions.

 

The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi

Karma and Destiny
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Edited by David Godman

Preamble
By David Godman

The theory of Karma is common to many oriental religions. In its most popular form it states that there is a universal accounting system in which each individual must experience the consequences of all his actions (Karmas); good actions bring good results and bad actions inevitably result in suffering to the one who does them. The theory also states that the consequences of actions (also known as Karmas) need not necessarily be experienced in the present life, they can be carried over into future lives. Because of this, several sub-divisions of Karma have been postulated. The following classification, which was used by Sri Ramana Maharshi, is common to many Hindu schools of thought.

1. Sanchita Karma. The store of Karmic debts accumulated from previous births.
2. Prarabdha Karma. That part of one’s Sanchita Karma which must be worked out in the present life. Because the law of Karma implies determinism in human activities, Prarabdha is often translated as destiny.
3. Agami Karma. New Karma accumulated in the present lifetime which is carried forward into future lives.

Sri Ramana Maharshi accepted the validity of the laws of Karma but said that they were only applicable as long as a person imagined that he was separate from the Self. At this level (the level of the ajnani or the ignorant), he said that individuals will pass through a series of pre-ordained activities and experiences, all of which are the consequences of previous acts and thoughts. He occasionally even said that every act and experience in a person’s life is determined at birth and that the only freedom one has is to realise that there is no one acting and no one experiencing. However, once one realises the Self there is no one left to experience the consequences of actions and so the whole structure of Karmic laws then becomes redundant.

Sri Ramana regarded the law of Karma as a manifestation of God’s will. He said that prior to Self-realisation there is a personal God, Iswara, who controls each person’s destiny. It is Iswara who has ordained that everyone must suffer the consequences of his actions and it is Iswara who selects the sequences of activities that each person must undergo in each lifetime. One cannot escape from Iswara’s jurisdiction while one still identifies with the activities of the body. The only way to become free of his authority is to transcend Karma completely by realising the Self.

source:
http://www.hinduism.co.za/karma&.htm

 

They are wrong, sorry, but as soon as you realize that you are reborn every second you slip any bond or attachment.

Classic Examples, Christians can focus on Jesus to become one with god.
Bhudists can focus on Bhudda to become one with him.
You can focus on your deceased spiritual granny who was convinced she was going to heaven or nirvana, that will do it also, or you can realise that you are just a wave on the sea.
Karma is a belief system that is only as strong as the belief behind it.
Where the mind goes the energy/spirit follows.
you can go anywhere in the multiverse you want, untill you tire of seperation and decide to return to the source, most people come back here as they have attachments but its really like asking where a wave goes when it breaks on the sea shore.
You are not You
It is you.

 

Anyone Can Focus on anything As god., God Will be There in that form to him.,

Prakaladha was asked by his dad (Asura), Show me your Vishnu(hindu god)., Where is Your Vishnu, or else i will Kill You.,
Prakaladha Replied, He is every where, He is in particles even smaller than the Atom (Atomic concept and particles smaller than atoms exist, was explained 1000's of years ago by Brahma Sutra in Hinduism),

I will bless you in the form You Pray me - Lord Rama,
Ravana Thought him as an Enemy, He came before him as an enemy,

So what you say is right, Its what you think matters!.,
Only thing is.,
Your thought (mind) is affected by
1)what you eat
(Hinduism gives importance to what one eat, Food affects the body which affects the mind)
2) Your Sorroundings
3) Your own Body

 

I don't think, actually, that the pursuit of life's successes are fruitless. I do not believe God wants us to believe that.

Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Even when this concerns the making of money:

Ecc 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all [things].

It is when such pursuits supplant Him that we're in trouble. And I think that's what you're getting at. The Word tells us of an example, an aspiration, that of being "bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God." (1Sa 25:29)

The bundle of life, and that it is, quite a bundle, but with thy Lord. That's the key.

 

No, pursuing wealth isn't a problem. Yes, we are to work with all of our might. Keeping everything in perspective means being sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.