James Smith, predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London, recounts the following: "Passing through a country graveyard the other day, an inscription on a head-stone struck my eye. The stone was by the side of the path, where everyone could see it, and it was placed there in memory of a young man who died at the age of seventeen. It was,

'Reader, one moment,
Stop, and think:
That I am in eternity,
And you are on the brink!'"

In "Eternity in Their Hearts," Don Richardson shares evidence from years of studying cultures throughout the world substantiating the truth that "(God) has also set eternity in their hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He demonstrates how people around the world are thus prepared to respond to the gospel. After Solomon shares the seemingly endless round of activities in time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-10) and makes a statement about time (Ecclesiastes 3:11) he then encourages us to stop and think about eternity.

First, there is a perilous prospect of divine retribution. In an article titled, "What Christ Teaches Concerning Future Retribution" William C. Procter explains, "The word 'retribution' is to be preferred to 'punishment' because the Bible teaches us that the fate of the wicked is not an arbitrary (much less a vindictive) infliction, but the necessary consequence of their own sins." Procter further explains, "The law of retribution can no more be repealed than that of gravitation; it is fixed and unalterable. That hell has not been prepared for human beings, but that they prepare themselves for it (Matthew 25:41, 46)." Paul writes about the peril of "everlasting destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon defines "destruction" as "to be delivered up to eternal misery."

Second, there is a perfect provision of divine redemption. Hebrews 9:12 reads, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Paul states believers are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). He also shares this truth in (Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14). C. S. Lewis said, "Every human being is in the process of becoming a noble being; noble beyond imagination. Or else, alas, a vile being beyond redemption."

Third, there is a personal promise of divine re-creation. Paul declares, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Believers will receive a new body as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 and Revelation 21:1-4. Paul shares the promise that those who are "justified" will be "glorified" (Romans 8:30).

Thomas Fuller cautions, "You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may be too late." R. A. Torrey warns, "WHERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY WILL BE DETERMINED BY WHAT YOU DO WITH JESUS CHRIST." Eternity is too long to be wrong. Stop and think about eternity.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah.