How Can We Have an Eternal Mindset Here on Earth?
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What is an eternal mindset? And is this something we can, or should, have while living here on this earth? This article will explore these two questions, as well as how we can develop an eternal mindset.
What Is an Eternal Mindset?
Merriam-Webster defines mindset as “a mental attitude or inclination.” It is what we think about something or our attitude regarding it. I have a particular political mindset, an environmental mindset, a parent/grandparent mindset, and many more. And those mindsets are all reflected in how I live my life.
Eternal is a word used in a few different ways in the Scripture. Most commonly, it is part of the expression “eternal life.” We often think of this as life without end, and it does involve that. But Jesus defines eternal life as a relationship. It is knowing God the Father and Jesus his Son (John 17:3).
But in 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul uses the word in a different sense. He tells us, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Eternal has the connotation of unending existence. But it is more than that. Here he is referring to the unseen realm. What is unseen is eternal, while what we can see with our earthly eyes is only temporary.
This verse is key to understanding what an eternal mindset is. The whole verse says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” An eternal mindset is a mind focused on the unseen realm, on things above rather than on the temporary things of this life.
It is a mindset that understands the physical world is not all there is. There is a greater reality that is unknowable to our human senses. This greater reality, particularly the kingdom of God, is revealed to us in the Scripture and seen through the eyes of faith. An eternal mindset keeps the kingdom of God front and center in all one does.
Is This Something That We Should Have?
So, is having an eternal mindset something that is expected of all believers?
The passage quoted above from 2 Corinthians 4:18 answers this question in the affirmative. Paul expressed that his eyes were fixed on the unseen, the eternal. Paul used inclusive terminology in this verse: “we fix our eyes.” The implication is that this should be true for all believers, not just a select few.
This is reinforced by passages like Colossians 3:1-2, where we are told to set our hearts and minds on things above. In Hebrews 3:1, we are told to fix our thoughts on Jesus. And Hebrews 12:2, where we are instructed to fix our eyes on Jesus. This is not something we are to do only on Sunday mornings, but we should focus our lives on Jesus and things above the rest of the week, regardless of where we are and what we are doing.
In 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Paul tells us that the time is short, and this world is passing away. So, even as we live in this world, we should not be engrossed in it. Live in the now. But keep your hope fixed on what lies ahead, on the eternal. Don’t let your activities here distract you from the eternal.
What Does an Eternal Mindset Look Like?
We often call the eleventh chapter of Hebrews the Hall of Faith. This chapter recalls many people from the Old Testament who, by faith, did something. But this is more than just a roll call of people who lived by faith.
Hebrews 11:9-10 says of Abraham, “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Hebrews 11:13-16 develops this idea further, showing that these people acted in faith because they looked forward to something beyond this life. They had a mindset that was focused on the life that awaited them beyond the grave, an eternal mindset.
Peter also identifies us as foreigners in this world (1 Peter 1:17; 2:11) and urges us to live that way. We should never forget that our citizenship is as members of the kingdom of God. While we live in this world, we are to be distinct from it. Living, not to satisfy our temporary desires, but in a way that will please our heavenly Father.
But this does not mean that we ignore the world we live in, being so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good. We still need to work to support ourselves and our families. We need to care for what God has blessed us with. We need to relate to the people around us. And we should be looking to make this world a better place.
But while we do those things, we should always keep sight of whose we are and the future God has prepared for us. Living a life of faith, trusting God to care for you and bring you safely to that heavenly city without foundations that Abraham was looking forward to.
Our time here is short. And as we live here, we should hold loosely to the things of this world. Using them, but not placing great value on them (1 Cor. 7:31). Our security should not be in our possessions or any earthly institution. Instead, it should be in the Lord who is preparing us for our eternal home.
We should also not become discouraged when life gets hard, or the world seems to be descending into chaos and evil. Instead, trust God with your life (Phil 4:6-7) and seek to live a holy life (1 Pet. 1:15-16) of love (1 John 4:10-11).
How Can We Develop an Eternal Mindset?
The Scripture teaches us that an eternal mindset is appropriate for all believers. But what does it take to develop a mindset that looks to the future rather than being wrapped up in the temporary things of this life?
Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-14 can help us with this. He expressed that he had not yet reached his goal of Christlikeness, but he was striving toward that. He was not living in the past. Instead, he was “straining toward what was ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
There are three aspects to what Paul has to say here. First, he had a goal. His goal was to become like Christ. If we want to develop an eternal mindset, it needs to be our goal. It will not happen by accident. Nor can your goal be just a wish. It needs to be something that you will actively pursue.
Secondly, we need to let go of anything that would interfere with reaching that goal. For Paul, that was the past, his heritage, training, accomplishments, and plans for what he wanted to become. We each may have different things we need to leave in our past, things that hold us back. But whatever it might be, we need to leave it behind.
And finally, Paul was striving toward his goal. He knew what he wanted to become. And he was working at it with all that he was. I will not develop an eternal mindset just by wishing for it. Nor by investing a few hours a week. It is a commitment of your whole life in pursuit of the goal.
That includes a commitment to spending time reading the Bible and making its teaching a part of your life. Time should also be spent in prayer and communion with our heavenly Father and in fellowship with other believers, actively involved in the life of a local church. These disciplines should take priority over many of the activities we might otherwise be engaged in.
Jesus illustrates this with his parable of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13:45-46. Here a merchant sold everything he had to purchase a pearl of great value. He gave up all he had to have this pearl. And that is what we need to do. Give up everything we have to obtain the life that God has called us to.
The development of an eternal mindset is something that we can only do with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 1:17-19 might be considered a prayer for an eternal mindset: having spiritual eyes open to the hope we have in Christ, recognizing God’s inheritance in the saints, and knowing his power at work for us who believe.
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