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What are the stages of a child’s life development that you can think of? If you think about these different stages of development that children go through do you ever wonder what part of them sets the personality and character for that child for the rest of their lives?
As parents we have the ability to make our children secure, sensitive and responsible for the rest of their lives by the decisions we make for them in their earlier years. We can have confident responsible adults or insecure and irresponsible adults by the choices we make when they are growing up. I know this seems like a lot of pressure but what happens early on in a child’s life will determine much about who they will be in their whole adult life. The things they experience and learn will form their character which will be with them until they die.
Can you imagine that the little decisions we make in our children’s early years will impact them for the rest of their lives? WOW!!! Every child goes through developmental stages as they grow up and these stages will determine who they will be in the future.
In our verses Jesus is describing a series of events in every believer’s life that will lead to another series of events that will determine what our entire experience for eternity will be like.That is; When He returns how well we lived out vs 24-26 will determine what we receive as rewards from Him. Every step we take, every act we commit will have an impact on what happens in the final stage of eternity. You wouldn’t think that the little goof ups we make when our kids are young would affect them all that much later on but they can. Even though who we are and what we do here is only a grain of sand on the beach of our lives in eternity, everything we do here affects what happens there.
Jesus often talked about how what we do here and how we act here will matter for all eternity. If we were to take a broad look at the stages every human being goes through spiritually, we would find there are several commonalities for all according to the scriptures. This overview will not be based upon what one believes or does not believe. All will go through these stages, where we end up will be determined by what we believe and how we behave.
The first stage is birth. All people are created in the image of God and were created for a purpose. Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. The Westminster Catechism says; “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” None of us has existed forever. We were all born and we will all die, unless Jesus returns before that appointed time. We all exist on earth in 3 forms; 1 Thess. 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can not connect with God unless we connect with Him through our spirits, because God is spirit. John 4:23–24 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” This is why we are told that unless we have Jesus in our hearts as Lord and Savior we are spiritually dead in our transgressions. So this first step is birth, physical and hopefully spiritual when we find Christ. How many ways are there to enter into life on earth, 1 birth, then why is it so difficult to believe there is one way to get into heaven? The 2nd stage of life is death. Seems kind of quick doesn’t it? Birth gives us a brief entrance into life on earth and death is an instantaneous exit from it. Heb. 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, There is no 2nd chance at life on earth. The Bible makes it clear that we get one shot at it here there is no reincarnation. The 3rd stage, where we go after death, is determined by what we believe before we die. If we have not received Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, confessing our sins to Him, then we will be eternally separated from God. Matt. 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” But because we are more than a physical body our life as soul and spirit goes on into eternity. When we die physically we go to 1 of 2 places, we are either with God in heaven or apart from Him in Hades. Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Rev. 20:13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. If we are not with God then we are separated from Him until the final judgment.
The 4th stage is resurrection, one phase of it. It is either the resurrection of the body to be with Jesus for all eternity or the 2nd resurrection of the dead who will go off to eternal judgment separated from God for all eternity. John 5:28–29 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. Our new bodies will be immortal, never experiencing physical death again. The 5th stage after resurrection is where we will receive payment for what we did with our lives, in these physical bodies, here on earth. Vs 27. That payment will go with us throughout all eternity. 2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Rev. 20:11-15 Both believers and unbelievers will be judged at the resurrections for their actions here on earth. The outcome of the judgment will determine the degree of reward in heaven or retribution, punishment, in Hell. Jude 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Because of what we believed and how we behaved, because belief determines behavior, we will experience the consequences for our beliefs and actions. They Removed 10 Commandments from school. Some will go away to eternal punishment, separated from God while others will be in the eternal presence of God. This is not a state of mind or an existence but a real place we will experience.
So, we can see what we choose to believe and how we act upon that belief will have great impact on how we spend eternity. This is a spiritual law established by God, unbreakable and unchangeable, like gravity. We may deny it but the reality hits when we fall from a roof and hit the ground. No matter where we go or what we do, we can not avoid the consequences of it. The choices we make every day will matter for all eternity. There is no little decision that will not matter. Remember, what we believe will determine where we are in eternity and how we behave will determine how well we spend eternity, the eternal compensation for the consequences of our behavior. Jesus wants us to understand the positive consequences our actions can bring based upon our belief in Him and submission to Him. He does not want us to waste another minute on things that don’t matter. There is an illustration that may help us understand better what all this means; a dot . and a line ——–. We live and exist in the dot while here on earth. Every choice we make about what to believe and how we act will determine the consequences of how we will exist in the eternal. Even the smallest decision will eternal consequences. Jesus warns us that if we are ashamed of Him He will be ashamed of us when we get to heaven. Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
There is something to think about as we come to the close of this message; in verse 26 Jesus compares the life of a man to the contents of the whole world. In actuality the word for world is translated kosmos, meaning the universe. If a person’s life is more important than the universe, what is the greatest gift we can give to Jesus here on earth? The greatest and most precious act we can give to Jesus is the soul of another person to whom we have shared Christ and led them to choose Him as Lord and Savior. This is an act that will pay great benefits for them and for us in all eternity.
Benediction: Romans 2:7–8 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. What are some of the stages of child development you can think of
