The Critical Question

The Main Thing About Heaven

Consider:  "Heaven Is a Person."

"This Life Only"

I'm struck by the logic and power of God's sharp word in 1 Corinthians 15:19 (it's like a scalpel--sharp but good):  "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."

Not only is it pitiful to follow a kind of "Christianity" that denies or disregards the historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus and/or the promise of bodily resurrection into glorious future life for all who trust in Jesus, but it's pitiful as well when we say we believe these things but still live in such a way that our heart's passion and energy and attention is all caught up in the here-and-now.

And yet, that kind of pitiful state is so easy to fall into!  "Lord, awaken my silly heart from its dream of earthly bliss and from the illusion of the world's security, and focus it in on real joy, the lasting and infinite joy of knowing you--now and forever."

Visits to Heaven?

David Platt compiles an array of recent publications featuring visits to and returns from heaven, and he also shows from Scripture why these fanciful accounts should be dismissed:


.

Live Forever?

This week Slate.com ran an article entitled, “Why No One Actually Wants to Live Forever.”  Subtitle:  “It would be really, really dull.”  Let me tell you why I both totally agree AND vehemently disagree with the author, Gemma Malley.

The article is mostly about the quest to extend the human life­span.  “We’re already living for decades more than our grand­parents.”  And who knows how future medical breakthroughs could elongate lifespans decades further!  But is that what we really want?  Malley concludes, “If we were to live forever, even if we lived in perfect health every day of our lives, it wouldn’t be long, in my view at least, before we were all lying in bed in the morning wondering why we should bother to get up and get dressed.”

I can appreciate this point—given a life with no Savior and no real purpose beyond oneself.  But I cannot appreciate viewing eternal life as a bore—given that I belong to Jesus and cherish his promise of resurrection life and ever-increasing joy in his presence forever!

Malley is on to something when she points to the human drive that insists, “We cannot die—there must be some way of cheating … the system.”  What she doesn’t consider is that this will to live may be a sign of something “transcendent” about beings made in the image of God and for the ultimate satisfaction of unbroken fellow­ship with him.  C. S. Lewis contends, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

But Malley does not seem to be willing to imagine what wonders the Awesome Lord of All Things has prepared for his beloved children in the age to come, or how profoundly satisfying it would be to revel in Jesus’ presence “world without end”!  Just think:  even now he’s preparing a place for us (what does it mean that the eternal Son of God is working on the future home of his people?!), and Jesus will come again to gather us to be with him (John 14:3).  Just think:  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined what the Lord has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9)!

So the next time you hear someone say they’ll take a pass on heaven (“What a dull ordeal to sit on a cloud endlessly strumming a harp…”), pray that our gracious, almighty, and unbelievably amazing Lord would breathe life, eternal life, into their dead heart (Eph 2:1-5)!

.

The Casting of Crowns

At our church we recently sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” and read Revelation 4:8-11 together, and the Lord grabbed my attention afresh with the image—there in both the hymn and the biblical text—of passionate worshippers casting their crowns before him.  Think of it:  joyfully-reverent praise to Christ expressed by the throwing of crowns!

Here’s a Scripture preview of heaven’s exuberant worship: 

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (4:9-11).

And here’s verse two of Reginald Heber’s great hymn (1826): 

Holy, holy, holy!  All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

So what’s this business of “casting crowns”?  Let’s back up:  in the age to come believers will be rewarded for godly, faithful living by the granting of crowns (e.g., 2 Tim 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Rev 2:10).  And as those appointed to rule with Christ (see Luke 22:28-30; Rev 3:21), it’s imaginable that faithful disciples would receive and be adorned by the symbols of his royalty.

So, then, what might it signify to have been granted a royal crown and yet to take it off and hurl it down before the Lord?  A snubbing of God’s gift?  Hardly.  Instead, it’s the reflex of joyful zeal and love for Christ—that the All-Glorious Lord seated on his throne would be fervently praised!  And more:  that the reigning King of Kings would look out over the faces of his beaming subjects and see their gesture of pure, glad submission to his authority.  And further:  that the greatest reward of every citizen of heaven is not a crown or any other blessing given to us, but simply to be in the all-satisfying, ever-radiant, eternally-increasing delight of God’s presence! 

My mind gets going as I imagine the throwing capabilities of believers in glory:  how far and how fast will we be able to cast those crowns?!

. 

Reflections from Billy Graham

The January 2011 issue of Christianity Today included an interview with Billy Graham. He's now 92 and in frail health but still very alert, and he reflects on some weighty things.

When asked what he'd do differently, Graham said he'd study more and preach less. This reminds me of what I heard him say at Urbana '79 (I believe it was in a Q&A session), that if he were starting out in ministry he'd take more time for training and preparation. In the thick of on-the-go ministry, Billy Graham had gained a new appreciation for the value of thorough biblical and theological education. And he wanted restless college students to take that as a challenge.

Back to the CT piece. Another thing he'd do differently is steer clear of politics. He admits that, at times, he crossed that line. He's not suggesting, however, that he would not reach out to leaders in public office--people in high places are sometimes very isolated and need someone to talk to.

And on the topic of aging? Accept it and be content in it--growing old is part of God's plan for your life. Be thankful for each new day, even if you face great hardship in old age.

Graham says more about aging: "As we grow older we should focus not only on the present, but more and more on Heaven. This world, with all of its pains and sorrows and burdens, isn't our final home." I really appreciate this word of wisdom, and yet two concerns come to mind: 1) I don't hear many conversations among believers about heaven--it just doesn't seem to be on people's minds (this is partly my fault, of course); and 2) it's not just in old age that believers should be thinking about heaven--at least, as I see the matter. If we take the biblical pictures and promises of the life to come seriously, the glorious looming reality of "coming home" and reaching our "better country" and (most of all) reveling in the radiant and unveiled presence of the Lord would seem to be so awesome and wonderful that it would preoccupy believers all through this life, not just in the "senior years."

It's vintage Graham when it comes to making evangelism a priority: "But the most important issue we face today is the same the church has faced in every century: Will we reach our world for Christ? In other words, will we give priority to Christ's command to go into all the world and preach the gospel? Or will we turn increasingly inward, caught up in our own internal affairs or controversies, or simply becoming more and more comfortable with the status quo? Will we become inner-directed or outer-directed? The central issues of our time aren't economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature, and our calling is to declare Christ's forgiveness and hope and transforming power to a world that does not know him or follow him. May we never forget this."

.

The Host of Heaven

Andreas turned his head as the door shot open, and in burst his friend, Seth, panting and out of breath. “I flew home as fast as I could,” he said. “The whole place is stirring with amazement, everyone dashing about. Did you hear the news?”

Andreas answered, “What news?”

“What news? Ah, that’s just it: what news! We should have expected it, I suppose, but the King has caught us off guard again—this time with the most shocking plan. You won’t believe it.”

“Try me,” insisted Andreas.

Seth paused, caught his breath, and began to relay the report announced by the Herald Angels from all their posts in the heavenly realms: His Majesty, the Great Lord of all, the very Son of God—King of creation, Eternal Word, Ruler over all principalities and powers, Master of the universe, Commander of all kings and princes and prime ministers and presidents on earth, the Eternal “I Am” … HE has announced that he will LEAVE HIS THRONE. It’s unbelievable.”

“Leave his throne?! Don’t be ridiculous. God is God, and the Son is at his right hand evermore and evermore—Amen. Seth, have you been dreaming?”

“Well, I’m as shocked as you are,” he replied, “but I assure you it’s no dream. Who would dream up something like THIS? All the angel leagues are in a stir, and if you look into the faces of the company chiefs you can tell they’re serious—it’s for real.”

But Andreas replied, “What’s for real—what will the Great One do? Leave his throne and withdraw his light from all the heights of heaven? Impossible.”

“Let me go on,” Seth insisted. “There’s more—all about the creatures made in the Creator’s likeness. It seems the image-bearers have reached an appointed time. They have failed repeatedly to submit to His Majesty and rest in his reign, and so finally he has said that it is time. Time to deal with the rebels, time to settle accounts with those humans.”

“Sounds ominous,” Andreas said. “Do you think he’ll wipe them out. Like when our ancestors rebelled; God did not spare them but sent them to the gloomy dungeons to await final judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

“That’s just the problem—or the irony of it all. The tone of the announcement is not doom and gloom. The Master Plan is full of hope—somehow… I don’t know how…”

Andreas pressed his friend, “Seth, do you think this has something to do with the Great Concealment? You know, the mystery that is always kept behind closed doors for all of us angels. I think it’s the only secret that stands in God’s Heaven. Do you remember how eons ago, when the grand Archangel Gabriel inquired about the Master’s future plans, and he was denied? Angels have always longed to look into the mysterious, ingenious plot of Almighty, but this one episode is concealed (1 Peter 1:12). Something about ‘condescension,’ I think.”

Seth paused to ponder. It was quiet for a few minutes as the two considered what weighty events were unfolding before them there in the corridors of heaven. Then they were interrupted as a diving squad of the Seraphim blared trumpets just outside their quarters. Seth and Andreas scurried to the ledge.

There before them, streaming from the windows and doors of all the mansions of heaven were myriads of myriads, and countless scores of angels in regal flight, all in full dress and perfect formation, all clearly more serious AND excited than they had ever been before. It was a display to take your breath away—so much so that Andreas and Seth almost forgot to do what destiny demanded: to join the streaming companies winging through the corridors of heaven, and to enter into the eternal song of praise: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” They sang out like never before. And as they flew, they glanced about with wonder and curiosity. What was going to happen?

A moment later word came to all the commanders across the vast expanse of heaven, and instantly each of them called their followers to silent attention. Andreas and Seth joined the countless host of heaven lining the sides of the vast interior atrium. Above them hovering in perfect attention was the Guardian Corps, the legion of angelic forces who sustain God’s people day and night. Across the great open space and up about a dozen levels were the Cherubim, who never rest and always look upon the Master. Above the Cherubim stood the Twenty-Four Elders, and to their left were the mysterious four living creatures. On yet another level there were the saints in white robes—the martyrs, bowed in adoration. They were surrounded by the choral brigade and those who blew the trumpets. Further up and further in, near the center of the dome of heaven, were suspended before the Almighty the numberless band of infants, all in perfect praise. And out in the midst of the open expanse was a display like never before from the Seraphim, the mighty six-winged creatures who flew back and forth before the staring faces of millions of angels of every description, and as they had always done the Seraphim called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa 6:3).

And then they stopped. All at once, as if with no direction, and there was perfect silence again. It was at this moment, as Andreas and Seth and a million others looked up, that the unimaginable took place. The King of kings and Sovereign Son of God, arose, stepped away from his throne, and began to lower himself before the ranks of heaven, moving downward, down past the infants, down beside the martyrs, down before the Cherubim, down in front of the Elders and the Guardians and all the countless array of angels. Down the Son went, down to the very floor of heaven, down to a door that had been locked and sealed since the beginning of time. And there the Son of God stood, below all the host of heaven, his throne now completely out of view.

It was then, while every eye was riveted on him and every ear attentive, that the Son began to speak. Andreas and Seth craned their necks to look and listen. And what they heard was this:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Son goes as light into darkness… I am the light of the world… I am the light that goes into a dark world… The Son goes to seek and to save the lost… I go into the world not to condemn but to save… Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends… The Son goes not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many…”

Seth and Andreas gasped. Heaven’s corridors shuddered.

The Lord continued, “The Son goes into the world to save sinners. This is love, that the Father sends his Son to atone for the sins of his people.” Then he paused, and shouted, “And the Word became flesh.”

At that, Jesus took the key—a key that had been kept by the Father from all eternity—and with it he opened the only passage to the world. Unlatching the door and lifting it to the side, the Son of God stood at the precipice of humiliation. Then he looked up and saw the Father’s face beaming with approval. He glanced to every side, around and above, and as he did the host of heaven broke out in thundering applause. Finally he looked down. And he leapt. And there was Christmas.

“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

And with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly minded,

For with blessing in His hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,

As of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords, in human vesture,

In the body and the blood;

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven

Spreads its vanguard on the way,

As the Light of light descendeth

From the realms of endless day,

That the powers of hell may vanish

As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six wingèd seraph,

Cherubim with sleepless eye,

Veil their faces to the presence,

As with ceaseless voice they cry:

Alleluia, Alleluia

Alleluia, Lord Most High!

(Liturgy of St. James, 4th cent.; Trans. by Gerard Moultrie, 1864; Public Domain)

.

"God Is the Gospel"

Lately I’ve been reading John Piper’s book, God Is the Gospel. He raises some incredibly important issues about the essence of the gospel and the core reality of salvation. For example:

• “… even though the gospel purchased and promises many good gifts, from the most spiritual to the most material, yet God him­self is the ultimate good promised in the gospel” (145).

• Redemption, forgiveness, imputation, sanctification, liberation, healing, heaven—“none of these is good news except for one reason: they bring us to God for our everlasting enjoyment of him. If we believe all these things have happened to us, but do not embrace them for the sake of getting to God, they have not happened to us” (47).

• “The critical question … is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?” (15).

• “The best news of the Christian gospel is that the supremely glo­rious Creator of the universe has acted in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection to remove every obstacle between us and himself so that we may find everlasting joy in seeing and savoring his infinite beauty” (147).

• Behold your God! (Isaiah 40:9). This “is the most gracious com­mand and best gift of the gospel” (56).

• “There is no gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not shown. And there is no salvation through the gospel where the glory of God in Christ is not seen” (97). See 2 Corinthians 4:4-6.

• “There is no sure evidence that we have a new heart just because we want to escape hell” (121). Wanting to avoid hell isn’t wrong, but the evidence we’ve been changed is that we want to escape hell and enter heaven in order to revel in God’s glorious presence (121).

The impact of reading this book has been to stimulate me to lift up my eyes, look away from myself, and gaze upon our magnificent Lord and gracious Savior!

.

God's Love and Human Suffering

In a recent sermon on God’s compassion (Jan. 31, on Luke 15:11-32), I noted that there was an elephant in the room: “How can we speak of a loving God in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake?” This question arises in many honest hearts—I’m guessing we’ve all struggled with it. It’s also a question that has lunged into popular atten­tion in surges in the past (e.g., after the 2004 Tsunami, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, etc.).

Just to be clear, we’re not asking about suffering that results from sin, such as trafficking, terror, or murder. Natural disasters don’t stem from God-defying impulses in the human heart. (And yet, even with sin-based suffering, questions about God’s permission and intentions arise—but that’s another discussion.)

Can we reconcile the love of God with harrowing affliction due to earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods—and let’s add diseases like small pox and cancer? Please see my posts, Haiti Earthquake and In the Wake of Disaster, for some intro­ductory thoughts to provide a biblical framework even as we voice sincere questions.

In his article, “A Fault Is Not a Sin,” atheist Christopher Hitchens says it’s idiotic to blame anything other than geology for the Haitian quake. But of course, what else can he say from where he stands: if God is excluded from one’s vision of reality, all is material and temporal, and we live and move in a meaningless abyss. End of conversation.

On the other hand, if one means to consider seriously the interpretation of reality presented in the Bible, one has to reckon with a God who’s able to intervene within his created order and, for example, prevent natural disasters. God isn’t helpless; he’s no mere bystander looking on as nature takes a chaotic course. The Lord is active within creation and history.

In Christ God demonstrated his power over nature (e.g., calming storms, walking on water, multiplying food, raising the dead). The Bible teaches that God is powerful—all-powerful—and that his might is exercised within the sphere of this-world, this-life experience. He parted the sea (Exod 14), toppled the walls of Jericho (Josh 6), protected Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan 3), and so on. And of course, the grand miracle of all time was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. With God, all things are possible (Matt 19:26; Luke 1:37). “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14; cf. Jer 32:17). So we won’t solve our problem by denying the power of God: he is able to do anything and everything that he chooses to do: the Lord does whatever he pleases (Ps 115:3).

The Bible also insists that God is a God of love: He is love (1 John 4:8), and in all things he works for the good of his people (Rom 8:28). God loves “the world” and in Christ he reaches out with open arms of com­passion (John 3:16). In the cross God demonstrates breathtaking love for undeserving sinners (Rom 5:8): there is no greater love than Christ’s (John 15:13).

The keys to comprehending God’s love, however, are two: 1) He does not promise and is not obliged to show his love by giving humans pleasant or even tolerable earthly circumstances. In fact, the Lord has all eternity in which to enact and express his love toward his people. Suffering here and now is no sign of the absence of God’s love.

2) There’s more to God’s character than love—he is love, yes; but he’s also just and holy, and in his white hot moral purity he abhors sin. Both love and holiness are true: sin must be punished (holiness), yet God makes a way for Another to take our guilt upon his shoulders (love).

Let’s step back: a huge turn in the plot of God’s story takes place in Genesis 3: sin enters an otherwise perfect world. With sin came inter­personal strife, physical toil and bodily death (3:16-19), and all humanity was plunged into calamity along with Adam and Eve. And more: notice how the curse brought serious damage upon creation itself (thorns and thistles, 3:18). So in some sense, nature itself was twisted and damaged by sin. In Romans 8 Paul describes how creation itself now “groans,” awaiting the final reversal of sin’s destructive effects (8:22). Nature’s convulsions fall in this category: they signal the terrible destructive effect of sin in the realm of God’s creation.

Let me clarify: I’m not saying we can identify each instance of suffering due to natural disasters as a direct punishment deserved by the specific person(s) who undergo such suffering. John 9:1-3 proves otherwise: there’s no simple blame-line to link all suffering back to a person’s sins. So too in Luke 13:4-5: when the tower at Siloam fell (due to an earth­quake?) and killed eighteen people, was it because they were worse sinners than other people? Jesus says NO. And yet, he urges onlookers to repent: let the sudden snuffing out of others’ lives move you to turn from sin and trust in Christ and thus be ready to meet your Maker.

It’s also true that our loving God often weaves searing hardship into the fabric of our ultimate good (e.g., Heb 12:5-11; 2 Cor 1:3-11; Gen 50:20). Paul pleaded for relief from a “thorn in the flesh,” but in time he realized his healing wouldn’t be for the best (2 Cor 12:7-10). Still, living with an affliction isn’t the same as being struck dead. The suddenness in which death can strike is used by God to warn us not to be presumptuous about the future or assume all will be well (Jas 4:13-17; Luke 13:1-5). The door of opportunity to repent and be saved is not held open forever (2 Pet 3:8-9).

But what about the children, even babies, tragically killed in Haiti? How does God love them? If being allowed to live at least an average earthly lifespan is the measure of God’s love, then love fails. But isn’t God free to show his love in the age to come, beyond this fleeting, temporal existence? The Bible doesn’t say a great deal about the eternal state of those who die in infancy, but a solid bib­lical case is made that they enter into glory with Christ. See, for example, messages and studies on this topic by Charles Spurgeon, Al Mohler, Sam Storms, and Desiring God Ministries.

In the end, then, I urge you to look around at this troubled world, imitate the Savior's heart of compassion for the lost (Matt 9:36), look up to the Master of All Things and echo Genesis 18:25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

.

Fame and Death

Both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett departed from this life on Thursday, June 25. Both were superstars in their own ways, and both of their stormy lives have been receiving major media attention the last few days. I’ve noticed a couple ironies amidst the whirr of all this coverage.

First of all, it’s obvious that famous people get the limelight not only in life but also death, whereas the other 99+% of humanity comes and goes from this world in relative obscurity. The media didn’t pick up on the parting of Mary Binnig, Joe Dent, or Henry Wright (other than to print their death notices in the obituary section of the Philadelphia Inquirer on 6/26/09), nor did it make much of the hundreds who’ve died in Somalia in the recent months’ unrest or of fatalities from cholera in Zimbabwe. Fame grabs our attention, pushing the unknown aside—we’re not interested in them. And yet, all people, deep down, are equally made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). All people alike are formed by God (Ps 139:13-15) with the capacity to know him and revel in his radiance forever. Jesus specialized in loving the unlovely, the outcast (e.g., Luke 5:27-32; 7:36-50; 15:1-2).

Dostoyevsky’s famous novel, Crime and Punishment, tells the chilling tale of an experiment in murder. Raskolnikov brutally kills two women—people he sees as “no account” figures, “useless” lives. But he cannot escape the reality that a life is a life and that human existence has meaning and dignity quite apart from one’s stature in society. The image of God in every person cannot be shrugged off. Eventually he can’t keep from confessing to his crimes, so heavy on his heart is the destruction of these “nobodies.”

Secondly, the way our popular culture processes death involves a couple irrational and contradictory notions. On the one hand, it’s assumed that anybody’s loved one who dies is now “up there looking down on us.” This was Jermaine Jackson’s assump­tion when he announced his bro­ther’s death. Sad stories on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” are similar—lost loved ones are always “with us” and “watch­ing us,” etc. On the other hand, in ordinary days it’s almost never taken seriously that there is a life to come that’s real and important and grand, and that this present existence is but a prelude to eternal exper­ience either in the presence of God (basking in the wonder of his glory) or in the absence of God (suffering the just punishment of unforgiven sin). It’s as if the life to come can be entirely ignored while we’re healthy and strong, and then conveniently brought out in the moment of grief— though always, of course, assuming a positive outcome.

We need to help each other avoid these errors by doing two things: keep the reality of heaven and hell in view at all times (don’t let these looming eternal facts slip off your mind’s radar screen), and take Jesus seriously that, apart from trusting in him (John 3:16; 14:6; etc.), people follow their hearts down the road to destruction (Matt 7:13-14). In other words: live now in light of eternity, and live now in a way that accepts and acts upon the sobering reality of hell.

.

Making Sense of "Church"

What is the church? Just a group of people with a common interest (like a book club or bowling team or community service agency)? The Bible’s answer is emphatic: NO. As the body of Christ, the church is a living, supernatural spiritual organism—and there is nothing else like it in the entire universe. The church is a colony of heaven; it’s a fellowship of travelers on their way home. The church is the very fullness of Christ (Eph 1:22-23), exhibit “A” of God’s wisdom to angels and demons (3:10-11), the theater of his glory (3:20-21), and the beloved, radiant bride of Christ (5:25-27).

Such a stunning, lofty vision of God’s church, however, often doesn’t make it all the way from words we acknowledge to truth that soars in our hearts. Instead, we find ourselves vulnerable to a thousand pressures to devalue and “horizontalize” the church, and so we lose sight of the mind-boggling reality of the body of Christ (it’s as though a veil falls over our eyes…) and we shape our lifestyles that make the church “just one more thing to do.” Please pray with me for deliverance from this God-dishonoring, joy-draining practice!

When we stand in awe of what the Lord has done and is doing in his church, we’ll find ourselves joyfully giving the body life and mission of GBC a strong priority. I appreciate Paul Tripp’s recent comments on what hinders the cultivat­ing of community in the American church. Here are some excerpts (from a blog post at the Desiring God site):

“…we’ve bought an unbiblical definition of the good life of success. Our kids have to be skilled at three sports and play four musical instru­ments, and our house has to be lavish by whatever standard. And all of that stuff is eating time, eating energy, eating money. And it doesn't promote community.” … “I’ve talked to a lot of families who literally think it’s a victory to have 3 or 4 meals all together with one another in a week, because they’re so busy. Well, if in that family unit they’re not experiencing community, there’s no hope of them experiencing it outside of that family unit.” … “We have families that will show up at our church on Sunday morning with the boys dressed in their little league outfits, and I know what's going to happen. They're going to leave the service early. Now what a value message to that little boy! Do I think little league is bad? I don't think it’s bad at all. I think it's great. But they’re telling him what's important as they do that.” … “You can’t fit God’s dream (if I can use that language) for his church inside the American dream and have it work. It’s a radically different lifestyle. It just won’t squeeze into the available spaces of time and energy that’s left over.”

.

Picturing Heaven

How do you envision the life to come? Revelation 21-22 paints a picture of the glorious new heavens and new earth: the ultimate wedding celebration (21:2, 9); no more tears or grief or pain (21:4); we drink at the fountain of life (21:6); the New Jerusalem is radiant, massive, gleaming—and in that world there’s no night: the glory of God is its light (21:23-25).

As the Apostle John scrambles for images and metaphors to help us imagine what he saw in the definitive revelation of what’s to come (1:11, 19), it begins to dawn on us—if we’ll just be quiet and sit still and take it in—that the future world for all who eagerly await Jesus’ return (Heb 9:28) will be awesome beyond belief!

Romans 8:18 makes a similar point but from a different angle: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth com paring with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Today’s trials, even Paul’s manifold, gut-wrenching afflictions (see 2 Cor 11:23-29), are minimal-miniscule-inconsequential when compared to the glories of heaven. This is not to minimize the real pain of suffering—not at all. Rather, it’s to underscore how mind-boggling and category-demolishing are the wonders of the life to come.

Let this sink in. Think of our world’s most grave tribulations—as in Hebrews 11:35-38 (torture, scourging, stoning, being sawn in two). Think of AIDS and cholera and earthquakes and suicide bombings and serial murders… Let the sorrow and horror of these things wash over you like a great wave: yes, they’re wretched beyond words. But then remember that the degree of heaven’s splendor makes the degree of misery in such suffering seem like nothing. Do the math: if being sawn in two scores -10 on a scale of 1 to 10, heaven scores +1,000,000. That’s why Paul can call his mountain of trials a “slight momentary affliction” (2 Cor 4:17).

Are you facing pain, are your loved ones suffering? Let today’s adversity catapult your imagination God-ward—let it help you envision the joy awaiting all who love Jesus. Because today’s misery is not even worth comparing to the glories of heaven!

.

Resident Aliens

So you’re taking the family road trip, and America’s interstate highway system is the pathway to your destination—to Niagara Falls, the Outer Banks, or Acadia National Park. After a few hours scrunched in the car, it’s time to stretch the legs at one of those wonderful Rest Areas.

Here’s what you DON’T do at the Rest Area: unload the trunk, haul in the bags, lock the car, and settle in. You DON’T unroll your sleeping bags, put on pajamas, and curl up for the night at the Rest Area. Of course not; it’s just a quick stop. The Rest Area isn’t your destination.

So too, this world is NOT our home, we’re only passing through. We’re citizens of another “country,” a heavenly kingdom. Our passport may be stamped to show we’ve visited this world, but it’s not our final destination. You could say we’re “resident aliens” here. According to the IRS, resident aliens are “non-U.S. citizens currently residing in the United States.” They live here, but they have citizenship elsewhere. So too, Christians live in this world, but our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). That’s why it’s so ridiculous when Christians unpack and settle in here at the Rest Stop—how bizarre to act as if this were our final destination!

.

Hope in Christ "only for this life"?

God’s word of Easter hope from 1 Corinthians 15 is glorious—hundreds of eyewitnesses confirming Christ’s resurrection, and as the “first-fruits” of victory over death the risen Lord prom­ises that all “who belong to him” will rise again to true, eternal life (v 23). This is “good news” (v 1)—the greatest news! But 15:19 still reverberates in my mind: “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” Is it possible that we could fall back into that pitiful state?

“This life” stands in contrast to life beyond the grave (remember, you were made for forever, Eccl 3:11). Human experience includes our here-and-now “three score and ten” (or so) in which we walk this earth, but it also includes one’s eternal destiny (i.e., heaven or hell). All who are in Christ will put on imperishable, immortal resurrec­tion bodies for the everlasting joys of heaven (15:26, 54-57).

But what would it look like to hope in Christ “only for this life”? On the one hand, it would mean regarding Christ as being able to bring some relief of today’s troubles. But on the other hand, it would mean disre­gard­ing and devaluing (or even rejecting) his promise of resurrection life and all the wonders of heaven! How sad—pitiful, actually—that some at Corinth fell for this incomplete, twisted, unbiblical theology (vv 12-15).

In our day a hot trend in certain cutting edge church circles is to turn to Jesus for comfort and peace and justice and relief of earthly suffering. Sometimes this is called “kingdom” ministry (as if the kingdom of God had to do with improving our living situation here and now but had little or nothing to do with life after death). Frequently those who wave this flag think they’ve found the way to make Jesus “relevant” to a broken world. Typically they present Jesus as a model of radical justice and love to be followed, but not as the Sovereign Lord to be believed and worshipped. Commonly they divert the historic mission of the church from making disciples among all the people groups (Matt 28:18-20—loving whole people, body and soul) to meeting physical needs today.

God calls us to be discerning and courageous as we follow his Word, and thus refuse to limit Jesus’ message and ministry to present-world woes. Hoping in Christ only for this life would be pitiful! But can I point fingers without also being guilty of such offenses? Is the looming reality of heaven impinging every moment on my mind and my way of life? Is my hope in Christ riveted on the promise of resurrection? Or do I, too, shrink Jesus, ignore heaven, and live to maximize earthly comforts?

.

The Wonder of Resurrection

Easter makes the stunning assertion that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Various efforts have been made to discount that claim (e.g., “He wasn’t really dead”; “The disciples stole his body”—see Tim Keller’s chapter on the resurrection in The Reason for God for a careful response to such ideas). But Roman soldiers weren’t novices in the execution business, and they made sure Jesus was definitely dead (John 19:34). Further, the risen Jesus appeared to over 500 people (1 Cor 15:6), and to make sure his followers understood that he was really there “in the flesh,” the risen Jesus let Thomas to touch his wounds (John 20:27) and he ate with his disciples (Luke 24:43). This was a bodily resurrection!

Let’s turn from the fact of the resurrection to its meaning: what was accomplished that first Easter Sunday? 1 Corinthians 15 is a long essay about the resurrection’s vital importance. Here are some key points:

• Christ was raised “according to the Scriptures” (v 4)—in the mind of God, Easter was pre-planned.
  
• Without the resurrection, Christian preaching and all sharing of the Gospel message are useless, “in vain” (v 14).
  
• So too, Christian faith would be “futile” (vv 14, 17): no point believing in a dead “savior.”
  
• And there’d be no remedy for sin (v 17)—we’d never know if Christ’s death would have satisfied the Father’s holy wrath.
  
• But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead (v 20)!
  
• Christ’s resurrection is the “first fruits” (vv 20, 23) of a coming general resurrection of all who belong to him.
  
• The final outcome of Christ’s resurrection is the destruction of death (vv 26, 55-57): the curse of Genesis 3:19 will be reversed.
  
• Our resurrection bodies will represent a vast improvement over our present, temporal, flawed physical bodies (vv 42-44).
  
• Our resurrection bodies will be imperishable, immortal (vv 53-54).
  

So where do YOU stand with Christ this Easter? Do you see the blazing importance of the resurrection? Are you trusting Christ for the forgive­ness of sin and the solid hope of resurrection life? Don’t let this Easter slip away if you have yet to come to terms with Jesus Christ!

.