When it comes to money, financial planners often tell us, “Don’t think just three months or three years ahead. Think thirty years ahead.” Christ, the ultimate investment counselor, takes it further. He says, “Don’t ask how your investment will be paying off in just thirty years. Ask how it will be paying off in thirty million years.” That’s not only true of how we invest our money, but every part of our lives, including our God-given resources of time and talents and possessions.

This life is the headwaters out of which life in heaven flows. Eternity will hold for us what we’ve poured into it during our lives here. When we view our short today in light of the long tomorrow of eternity, even the little choices we make become tremendously important. No wonder Scripture commands us, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2).

Your life on earth is a dot. From that dot extends a line that goes on for all eternity. Right now you’re living in the dot. But what are you living for? Are you living for the dot or for the line? Are you living for earth or for heaven? Are you living for the short today or the long tomorrow?

In this great 6-minute video, Francis Chan uses another illustration, somewhat similar, that demonstrates just how short-sighted living only for this present life is:

This is a great reminder to invest in what will last, and to center your life around God, His Place, His Word, His people, and those eternal souls who desperately long for His person and His place. Do this, and no matter what you do for a living, your days here will make a profound difference for eternity—and you will be living not for the dot but for the line (or in Chan’s case, the rope)!

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 (2 Corinthians 4:18).