Focused on Eternity

Background Story: Jesus often preached in parables teaching about the kingdom of God using everyday examples.

Read Matthew 25: 1-13

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, ⁴but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. ⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

⁷“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

⁹“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. ¹¹Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

¹²“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

¹³“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Big Idea: Keep our vision on Jesus and eternity.

Today I was talking to a high school soccer athlete who told me a simple, yet profound truth. He said, “Inexperienced players look down at the ball and get tangled up in what’s happening at their feet. Good players look up and keep moving the ball towards the goal.” That’s true in soccer and so true in the realm of eternity. Each day here is one day closer to Christ’s return and Heaven. Jesus instructs us to “keep watch” for His return, stay awake, and keep our lamps burning. With the stresses of life, how do we keep an eternal focus and not become tangled up in today?

Commit each day that Christ would be magnified. What does that mean? When we magnify something, we make it appear bigger in our focus. In science class, when you magnify a bug under a microscope or magnifying glass, you aren’t physically making the bug bigger. The bug’s size and shape does not change. By placing it under magnification, you are able to see it more clearly and in greater detail. When we pray for Christ to be magnified in our life, we aren’t making Jesus bigger. He is already the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Instead, we are praying to see Him more clearly, removing other distractions from our vision, spending time in His word, and setting Him above all as our greatest pursuit.

When we live this way, our hearts become consumed with a growing love for Him as we seek to know and see Him each day. And as Christ is magnified in our lives, He becomes magnified through our lives shining this love we are experiencing to others. Will the cares of this world still trip us up from time to time? Of course. But when that happens, we get back on our knees and pray, “Christ be magnified above all else” and we choose to lay those worries and cares down before Him who loves us.

Bible Devotions for Teens