Think Eternal.

A car magazine I subscribe to gave tribute to the VW Beetle in a recent issue. When you consider that the iconic “Bug” kept the assembly lines going from 1938 to 2003, you really have to conclude that the car “defies time” and “defines endurance,” wrote the author. After all, 21,529,464 people said, “I’ll take one!” What an “enduring legacy,” he continued. And if all that effusive praise wasn’t enough, for the copy on the cover photo he chose the clincher: Think eternal.

Really? A VW Bug’s 65-year production run compares to eternal?

Now Christie Lomas knows I like cars and trucks–my Fords more than his Chevys, mind you. And like most folks, I like a good dose of hyperbole every now and then: Speed kills. Drive a Chevy and you’ll outlive Methuselah!

But misusing words like eternal gets me concerned. I guess because the stakes are so high. Eternity is real and each of us is going to spend it somewhere. Comparing a 65-year production run to eternity–even in obvious hyperbole–seems to me to diminish something of its seriousness.

Because we’re sinners, the default destination for each of us is God’s eternal wrath and judgment. We are doomed to perish. And we’re not talking about 65 years!

But it doesn’t have to end that way! Christ extends the offer of eternal life to all who believe in Him. No less than seventeen times in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the way to eternal life! I’ve listed the references below, and I’d encourage you to review each one of them.

I’m quite sure Jesus would agree with the phrase, “Think eternal.” I just don’t think He’d put it with a picture of the VW Bug. What picture do you think He’d use?

Blessings,