This verse applies to both sinner and saint. For the unsaved person, the "eternity" God has set in man's heart is the longing he has for a Savior and the need he has to know God's love. For the Christian, I believe the divinely implanted purpose of God is for him to demonstrate God's love for the world by sharing the Savior, Jesus Christ, with the lost.
No matter what a Christian's station or calling in life, God's ultimate purpose for every believer is to reach lost and dying souls and win them for His Kingdom.
From the moment our redemption was consummated by the Lord Jesus Christ, God's plan for all men was that they come into the knowledge of the truth and be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. And that plan, God's Great Commission, included preaching the good news of man's redemption to every creature—to every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth.
Through Jesus, God made provision for every person on earth to be reconciled to Himself. Because of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, the Bible says God is not holding men's trespasses against them (2 Cor. 5:19)!
That's the good news of redemption—that we are to proclaim to the lost in our own world, in our own sphere of influence in life. As Christ's ambassadors, taking His Place on the earth, we are to urge men everywhere: Be reconciled to God!
I believe every Christian has a God-given yearning or desire to reach out to the lost and bring them into fellowship with the Father. But that desire must be cultivated through prayer in order for it to produce fruit—a harvest of souls for God's Kingdom.
Matthew 7:7 says, "ASK, and it shall be given you; SEEK, and ye shall find; KNOCK, and it shall be opened unto you." Our desire to fulfill God's purpose prompts us to ask Him for souls—for the heathen as our inheritance (Ps. 2:8).
As we diligently seek the Lord, He clothes us with His glory and molds us into vessels of honor, meet for His use (2 Tim. 2:21). And as we knock, those doors of opportunity are opened to us to share the good news of the Gospel in our own world.
The heart of a soulwinner is not the possession of just a few in the Body of Christ. We have a promise from Jesus Himself that as we follow on to know Him, He would make us fishers of men (Matt. 4:19; Mark 1:17). As we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, walking in the light of His Word, He Himself will teach us to catch men—to win souls—for His Kingdom.
We must earnestly seek God so that He may cultivate within us the heart of a soulwinner. The Bible says, "...they that turn many to righteousness (shall shine) as the stars for ever and ever" (Dan. 12:3), and "...he that winneth souls is wise" (Prov. 11:30).
As we hold forth the Word of Life to those around us, we as Christians can proclaim the truth that there is a Heaven to gain and a hell to shun; we can turn many to righteousness to the glory of God.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications