Will It Matter In Eternity?

In the movie “Gladiator” (one of the best movies ever made, in my opinion), we see General Maximus giving his troops a pre-battle pep talk, reminding them that “what we do today, echoes in eternity”. While this fictional character wasn’t a follower of Jesus Christ, his words align with scripture. Everyone ever born will reap what they’ve sown, sooner or later, whether it’s while they’re living today or later when they’re standing face to face with Jesus Himself. Paul, in his explanation of this in Galatians 6:7-8, is pretty straightforward: actions (and words) have eternal consequences so we should therefore strive to do good to others. Practically speaking, what can that look like?

First and foremost, those around us need to know about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to give their life to Him. It’s the most important choice a person will make. There is no decision more critical than this one. As the love of man continues to grow colder, just like Jesus said it would in Matthew 24:12, this may feel like a pointless endeavor. It isn’t, not by any means. We’re to do what we can to share what we know about Him, that He loves everyone unconditionally and desires a relationship with them. Yes, it’s true that some people don’t want to hear anything about the Lord however, that doesn’t mean He’s not being shared in our actions. How we, as followers of Christ, act and speak can say more than any direct conversation about Him. When adversity comes your way, how do you handle it? Do you whine and complain, questioning whether God truly loves you, or do you handle it in a more spiritually mature fashion, demonstrating that you trust Jesus even though you may not understand what’s going on? When those at work treat you unfairly, how do you respond? Do you look for revenge, like unbelievers do, or do you demonstrate contentment in letting the Lord sort things out and then pray for the person who wronged you? How we live our lives may be the only information about Jesus that some people will get.

For the those one can sit down and talk to about the Lord, are we being patient, answering questions honestly, in plain language and not Christianese? Do we know why we believe what we believe? If not, why should anyone who thus far rejects Him listen to what we have to say? Not that one has to have a doctorate in theology but have an answer as to why one puts their faith in Him, why one believes He is Who He says He is. We each have our own story to share as to what led us to believe that Jesus is God, that we need His forgiveness for our sin, leading us to give our life to Him. Also know that it’s okay to say “I don’t know” to their questions. We’re all growing and learning in our relationship with Jesus (or should be). None of us are perfect or have perfect understanding of all things related to the Lord or scripture but we need to do our best in sharing scripturally accurate information, along with admitting when we got something wrong.

Second, how we invest our time and ourselves matters. Do we spend time reading and studying scripture? What about talking with other Jesus followers and encouraging them in their walk with Him? Or unpacking things together in scripture that we might not fully understand? Are we praying for others, whether friends or family or those we don’t know personally? Praying for others is absolutely doing good to and for them. As a side note, we don’t need to know the gory details of someone’s life to be able to pray for them. The Lord knows everything, which includes what’s going on in the lives of others and at a minimum, we can ask the Lord to care for them as He sees fit, strengthening them in their walk with Him, or if they’re lost, we can ask Him to do whatever He needs to do to bring them into relationship with Him. If you’re asked to pray for someone, do so, even if it’s right then and there. It’s amazing what the impact of telling someone you’re praying for them can have.

Third, how we invest our money matters eternally too. In Malachi 3:10, this is the only time in all of scripture that God tells us to “test” Him. It’s like He’s double dog daring people to try to out give Him (spoiler alert: we can’t). Understand this, tithing matters. In the Old Testament, we see that a tithe was 10% of what a person had. Today, there’s a growing trend in the church to dissuade people from doing that, that it’s okay to give less. In my opinion, this is bad teaching and not scripturally defensible. If anything, we ought to give more to not only our local congregation that’s feeding us but also to Christian organizations that are sharing the Gospel and helping others (Samaritan’s Purse is one example and no, they’re not paying me to say that). How generous or stingy a person is in giving their money to the Lord, whether in tithes and offerings, possessions, time and of themselves, reflects how much they trust the Lord to provide for them. When I’m about to purchase something that is a want and not a need and it’s outside of my planned budget, the question that helps me the most is “will I really care about this when I’m in eternity with Jesus?”. If the answer is ‘no’, I don’t buy it. For those of you who use a budget, it’s helpful to include tithes and offerings in it – at least 10% of gross income – along with a portion for spending on silly stuff (the size of which is between you and the Lord). Having nice things can be better than not having them but they’re only temporary, at best. Remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:19 – 21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

With each passing day, eternity draws closer and closer. For some, it will arrive after a long life lived here on earth. For others, this life ends suddenly, without warning, unexpectedly. The Jesus follower will find that their first moment in eternity is in His presence but for the one who dies having rejected Jesus, they will find themselves in hell because that’s where rejection of Him leads. We are all spiritually eternal creatures and after we leave this existence here, we will live in one of two places forever: in heaven with God or in hell without Him. God gave us the free will to choose that destination, to be with Him or apart from Him. He never forces Himself on anyone, nor does He stop being God because there are people who refuse to believe in Him.

There’s another event that the bible mentions where some go suddenly from this life into eternity: the rapture of the church. It’s coming sooner than many might imagine, and like Enoch and Elijah, Jesus will take those who belong to Him and they won’t taste physical death. We are given many things to look for that tell us of His soon return for His followers but the only one who knows exactly when that moment will be is the Father alone. This is a separate event and not to be confused with Jesus’ second coming, although there are those who choose to believe they are one and the same thing. Thankfully, having a perfect understanding of doctrine isn’t a prerequisite for going up in the rapture!

So, my friend, we each have a choice. What will we do with the time we have remaining before Jesus ends the church age? Will those gifts, talents and resources be used as the Lord directs? When our works are tried by fire, will the result be gold and silver or will what’s left be ash and dust, even though we will be eternally saved? General Maximus was right, what we do today does matter in eternity.

July 13, 2026

What impact do our choices today have?