Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’
— 1 Corinthians 1:26–31

Living my life today in light of eternity means choosing to see myself, others and the world the way that God sees. All day long, most days, I am surrounded by people. So are you. In offices and classrooms, in hallways and in Starbucks, there they are — people. People who want, people who need. People who try our patience, people in a hurry. We’re in a hurry, too. With a lot to do and little time in which to accomplish it, we see a sea of faces, a crowd of people. Looking at them with my sin-broken eyes, they look like strangers. They look like barriers, bodies that stand between me and the front of the line, me and quitting time, me and my snuggly slippers at home on my couch, away from the throng of people.

But living my life today in light of eternity means choosing to see myself, others and the world the way that God sees. So little matters in light of eternity. So much that I value falls away when I consider a forever future with my Savior. I want to see people the way that he sees them.

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
— 1 Samuel 16:7

In light of eternity, my vision is transformed. There are no people. There are persons, each unique and beautiful, each an image-bearer of my creative God. Each person is my Lord’s beloved, and he died for this one, for that one, for each of us, so that we all might spend our forever futures with him.

As you live today in light of eternity, let that light transform how you see. Each encounter with another person can be sacred, set apart to live out the example of Christ. Philip Yancey, in his book Rumors of Another World: What on Earth are We Missing?, points out that Jesus was the very first world leader who established a kingdom where losers are heroes. Instead of those with wealth, honor and privilege, Jesus chose to honor the poor and persecuted, the social rejects, the needy — people. A life spent like that is a life spent well, in preparation for a forever future with the One who made it possible. All because of his overwhelming love for people.