Immortality can be granted in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:51. So why does God give humanity an entire lifetime before that moment arrives? The answer lies in understanding what God is actually preparing His children for. Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes that everything under the sun is temporary. Wealth, wisdom, and achievement all pass away. Yet Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us that there is a season and a purpose for every period of time. Temporary does not mean meaningless. God gives life not merely to fill it with experience, but to use it for a specific purpose. Deuteronomy 8 reveals that God led Israel through the wilderness to humble them, test them, and reveal what was in their hearts. They already knew the commandments. The wilderness was where they had to live what they had been taught. Knowing that God provides is one thing. Standing hungry in a desert is another. Experience brings what is in the heart into the open, though experience alone guarantees nothing. An entire generation failed to enter the promised land despite witnessing miracles firsthand. Abraham's willingness to offer Isaac demonstrated something deeper than doctrinal knowledge. After years of walking with God and seeing His promises kept, Abraham trusted that God would not break His word, even if it required resurrection. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego showed that same settled trust, declaring they would serve God whether He delivered them or not. Their obedience did not depend on the outcome. Romans 8 reveals why this character matters. God's children are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, who is appointed heir of all things. God is conforming His children to the image of His Son and preparing them to share in His responsibility. Revelation 3:21 promises that overcomers will sit with Christ on His throne, but the overcoming must come before th

Richard Ritenbaugh, citing Mark Twain's aphorism, "The art of prophecy is difficult, especially with respect to the future," points out that there are too many variables for any human to predict accurately. We can be thankful that God's prognostications and prophecies are totally trustworthy, many of which have already come to pass. God is a forecaster extraordinaire. Prophecy is the ability to forecast an event in advance. Many predictions are quite probable with regard to general predictions, but the more qualifiers and variables we add, the less probability the prophecy will work out. Some futurists, like H. G. Wells, have been successful in their prognostications, although many turned out to be duds. We should gaze forward, anticipating what God will reveal to us, becoming "nostalgic about the future," and not wistfully looking back, lingering or dallying, as did Lot and his family. By looking back, Lot's wife was boldly repudiating the will of God. Once we have made the commitment to follow God, to recount the cost would be suicidal. God has to come first before anyone else from the time of commitment and beyond. Looking back leads to "plowing a crooked furrow." Paul assured us that pressing forward to knowing Christ makes every other goal rubbish. In putting all into the goal of following and knowing Christ, we are not alone; we have a big cloud of witnesses who have provided us an example to follow something we cannot immediately see, except through the lens of faith.