In Light of Eternity

(another journal entry from Africa earlier in the trip, my last week in South Africa. This is the very journal entry that inspired my blog and its title. It was a revelation from God that changed the direction of my life.)


July 8th, 2012 - South Africa

  There are people who wonder why I bother coming here to Africa. Many look at the hundreds and thousands of years of oppression Africa has faced. They see statistics and numbers on their computer screens and pictures of dying people on their televisions. They tell me I'm wasting my time on an endless problem. They say that it doesn't matter. Others treat me like a saint and say "I could never do that." And often I am asked what difference a 16 year old like me could make in these impossible situations.

  My answer: NOTHING. I can't change Africa. No one can. I don't have the medical cure to aids, I don't have the money or resources to feed every starving and dying person, and I'm not even sure what I'm even doing half the time. But I came to a realization the other day in my devotional time with the LORD.

  As the sun rose here in South Africa, I looked up at the mountains, the trees and the sky and I realized just how small I am. I am but a speck compared to the mountains and my days are numbered. When I'm dead in the ground, the mountains will still be there. One fifth of my life is already over. And what have a I done with the fifth of my life already passed? I've wasted it on myself. I realized that I have spent a majority of my time and efforts on selfish desires. The rest I have spent trying to please others.

  And then I looked around and realized how much bigger God is than the mountains, and He is everlasting. This life of mine on earth will come and go like the tossing of the wind. But my life in eternity is forever. The word of God says that we who are in Christ are just strangers passing through this world. We aren't even meant for this world.. So why would I even consider wasting my time on things that don't make a difference for eternity? My life is meaningless if it isn't used to advance Gods kingdom. The things I do for the world will fade and parish along with my body.

  No one will remember the things I did when I die. No one will care. But if I am living for eternity, to serve God kingdom minded, the things I do (or rather, the things God does through me) will never pass away. Life is too short to not live for God and see souls saved. So I'm done living for myself. I can't change the world.... But God can. I desire to be used by Him because He is worth living for and worth dying for. I have seen the LORD work in ways that I could never have imagined and I see His goodness pouring out daily onto the people of Africa. He is our salvation and the hope for those living in even the darkest of places. For His glory, I will live my life in light of eternity.

Philippians 1:27

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, when I come to see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving as one for the faith of the gospel."

Philippians 3:8

"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ"

Living in the Light of Eternity,
Olivia Thabisa Cartwright