There are so many people living in the world, but almost none of them know exactly how much time they have left to live. Most of them spend each day given to them thinking only about their lives on this earth. However, there are also those who think about the Kingdom of Heaven and live for the eternal world.

Then, what kind of life are we living now? We need to examine ourselves to see if we are blindly walking the path of faith with a vague notion of Heaven. Let us take some time to think about the goal and direction in life that we must choose, asking ourselves: “What should we live for? How should we live our lives?”

The Wisdom to Count Our Days

Thomas More, known as the author of “Utopia” and an English politician, was imprisoned at the end of his life because he refused to compromise his principles. When his family visited him in prison, they told him that he shouldn’t die like that and persuaded him to give up his resistance against the king, so he could find a way to survive. After hearing the earnest plea of his family, he asked them how many more years he would be likely to live in this world if he did so. They said he would live around 20 years more. Then he said as follows:

“I can’t sell my soul and give up on eternal life to live just a little bit longer.” By this he meant that 20 years are too short compared to life in the eternal world after death, and that he could never give up on eternity to have just a little bit more time.

Like him, we need to think about how many days are left to us. The length of our days is seventy or eighty. Even if we live up to 100 years, all our days pass away swiftly; we live only for a limited period of time. So, there is very little time left for us now.

Ps 90:11–12 Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

The author of the Psalms asked God for wisdom to number the days left in our lives. This is a very important teaching. What will happen to us if we deny God, give up on faith, and abandon our gospel mission for our short earthly life? When we think about how many days we have left to live, we can understand what we should live for during the rest of our lives on earth, so we can prepare wisely for the eternal world that is coming soon.

Some people may have dozens of years left to live, and some a few years or days. It is a very foolish choice to give up on eternal life, which God has promised us, for this transient life. We need to number our days correctly, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom and be worthy enough to enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

The Invisible Eternal World

Nothing on this earth is eternal, and no one can live forever here on earth. No matter how powerful one is, he will die in due time. Such is life.

Ps 90:9–10 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

It would be good if all the days of our lives passed away in the joy of God. However, the Bible says that most people live their lives under the wrath of God. In other words, they spend their youth and energy pursuing the pleasures of this sinful world, instead of living their lives according to God’s pleasing will.

The days pass so quickly, as the Bible says: “They quickly pass, and we fly away.” If we calculate how many days each of us has left to live on this earth, we will know that we don’t have much time but only a short amount of time left. However, time in the Kingdom of Heaven God has prepared for us is eternal.

2 Co 4:16–18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The Bible teaches that we pursue things in the invisible world, not visible things on this earth, and that visible things are temporary whereas invisible things are eternal. God has told His children to count the days left for them on this earth so that they can choose the eternal things and acquire them.

The Mission of the New Covenant Workers Leads to Eternity

The longer I live as a pilgrim on this earth, the more frequently I hear about the death of my acquaintances. As their bodies return to the earth, the wisdom, wealth, and power they had are completely meaningless and they gradually disappear from people’s memories. However, the gospel achievements of God’s people, who have lived the life of faith on this earth and are carried in God’s arms, remain as unforgettable beautiful fruits. That’s why God always tells us to become the workers of the New Covenant.

2 Co 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Mk 16:15–16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

God has qualified us to be workers of the New Covenant and to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all people. There are numerous types of jobs on this earth, and many people put all their efforts into their jobs for their transient lives. However, God has given us opportunities to work for eternal things, even just a little bit.

God has chosen and called us to be workers of the New Covenant Gospel and sent us into the world that is our workplace. No matter what kind of job each of us has and wherever we are, we must never stop preaching the will of God to the people around us. Whoever believes in the gospel we preach and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Since we are entrusted with the great mission of saving all people in the world, we should strive to preach the gospel until we go to Heaven, our eternal home.

2 Ti 4:1–8 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; . . . For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The Apostle Paul dedicated his life to preaching the gospel. Before he was martyred, he said that the time had come for his departure and counted the days left in his life. If he had denied Jesus and abandoned his faith, he could have been released from prison. However, he never did so, because he knew that there is a tremendous difference in the length of time between life on this earth and life in the world that God promised. So Paul confidently said that there was in store for him the crown of righteousness, and told the saints to preach the Word, being prepared in season and out of season.

The Faith of the Saints Who Longed for Heaven

Our ancestors in faith also walked the path of faith with the realization that their life on earth was only temporary.

Heb 11:33–38 . . . who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

The saints of the early Church, including the Apostle Paul, were tortured while preaching the gospel, but they refused to be released, and they suffered all kinds of disadvantages, being called heretics, but they did not care at all. It’s because they knew better than anyone else that everything on this earth is temporary and that those who persecuted and mocked them would all die in due time. Since they firmly believed that they must not give up on life in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven to stay on this earth just a little bit longer, they were able to regard all the hardships and trials as nothing.

As Christians, we should have an understanding of the concept of time on earth and in Heaven. The moment when we forget that our time on this earth is temporary, all our wisdom will disappear and we will put our faith at risk, being tempted by evil in this world. We will grumble against God and give up on faith when life gets just a little bit harder.

Ro 8:16–18 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The Bible says that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Since the saints of the early Church believed this, they never gave up on Heaven no matter what they went through. They thought to themselves, “I’m going to the eternal Kingdom of Heaven soon. So, if I live a few more years on this earth by denying Christ and losing the Kingdom of Heaven, what is the use of doing that and what joy or happiness will I have?” They had such great faith that the world was not worthy of them.

Today, we should also have this same kind of faith in our hearts and open our spiritual eyes to the Kingdom of Heaven every day, counting the days left in our lives on earth. Our eternal destination is Heaven. We will enjoy eternal life and happiness with Heavenly Father and Mother in Heaven forever and ever. Let us keep this in mind and live for the Kingdom of Heaven while doing our earthly jobs faithfully as well as keeping away from worldly desires.

A Life Pleasing to God

God has already given us the answer to the following questions: How many days are left in our lives? What should we live for, or what is the wisest way to live? Although we lived our lives under God’s wrath before we knew God, let us now live a life that pleases God by putting all our efforts into saving the world, as workers of the New Covenant. When all our days come to an end, the day will surely come when we will see that we have spent the most meaningful time on this earth.

Col 1:22–25 . . . This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness . . .

Paul rejoiced in what was suffered for the saints and filled up in his flesh what was still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body—the church. He lived in the hope of receiving the eternal crown of righteousness, which God had prepared for him, when he returned to Heaven after finishing his life on earth. If we have this kind of faith as gospel workers, we can live a truly happy life, can’t we?

2 Ti 2:3–4 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.

Since we have been chosen as good solders of Christ, we cannot avoid suffering in our lives. For us who are called as soldiers of Christ and workers of the New Covenant, this world is no longer a place of worldly pleasure or rest, but a mission field. Those who do not work but just rest in the workplace will spend their lives under the wrath of the Lord, won’t they? Whenever hardship comes our way, let us think about how many days are left in our lives on earth. This will help us renew our faith.

When we were in the world, we lived without knowing about God or Heaven. Now, however, we are learning through God’s word every day about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. As people of Zion, let us live for eternal life and let the people, who are still living their lives in vain, know that there is life in an eternal world as well as life on this earth that lasts only for a short time and then disappears. I earnestly ask you to walk the true path of faith to please and glorify God as much as you can, by having the wisdom to count your days and eagerly preaching the glory of Father Ahnsahnghong and our Heavenly Mother—the New Jerusalem—to Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.