Heaven, A Liquid Asset

The assurance Christians have of eternal life through the Gospel ought to impact the way we live now.  Since God has made provision for our future, it stands to reason He will preserve us today.  For followers of Jesus Christ eternal life has already begun, and we can be rid of the cares and worries of this life which potentially plague us with fear.

Eternal life in heaven for some believers could be compared to life savings which remain untouched, an expensive insurance policy which has never been claimed on, or a immense financial investment which currently is a non-liquid asset.  Eternal life is typically (speaking from my own experience a bit) can be seen as something afar off and not quite useful for our experience of daily life.  More and more I am learning that eternal life is altogether relevant for today, a liquid asset we can draw upon to help our perspective remain fixed upon Christ.

Life was not intended by God to be theoretical or philosophical but real and abundant.  The life we have through Jesus Christ is one to be lived boldly today, not only in a heavenly land in the unknown or distant future.  Today we can draw upon the fact God knows us and we know Him; that God loves us and we love Him.  This knowledge should be the framework of our decisions.  We do not need to worry about what we are going to eat or what clothes we should wear because God has us covered for eternity.  He has provided for the birds of the air and beasts of the field, and He will continue providing for us today, tomorrow and forever - though our faith is small.

Do you know you have eternal life?  Have you receive the assurance God offers through His Word of a secure future with Him forever?  Are you drawing upon this reality as days trickle into weeks, months, and years?  Let us be sure we do not glory in our security or heavenly future, for God is the only One deserving of our confidence and trust.  Take the words of Jeremiah 9:23-24 to heart:  "Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches;²⁴ but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD."  This is eternal truth we can walk in today!

Pleasing Our Saviour

People are notoriously difficult to please.  Give someone what they want, and they can still end up dissatisfied.  Whilst it is true some are easier to please than others, we all tend to be upset when our expectations are not met.  When we don't receive what we expect - be it service or quality we believe we have paid for - it leads to ungrateful, bitter attitudes.

The children of Israel provide an example of this after they demanded Samuel anoint them a king to rule over them like the other nations.  1 Samuel 10:24-27 reads, "And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?" So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!" ²⁵ Then Samuel explained to the people the behaviour of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. ²⁶ And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But some rebels said, "How can this man save us?" So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace."  After it was revealed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, a man who stood a head taller than all others, not everyone was pleased.  They were granted their wish of having a king, but they weren't pleased with the king God had given them.  Maybe they had hoped to be king (or at least a man from their tribe) and were a bit sour about it!  This shows the desire for a king was not so much about God's selection of king but a symptom of hearts which had departed from trusting God.

The LORD graciously touched the hearts of valiant men to accompany their king, who served and honoured him.  King Saul was pleased to have valiant men who respected and offered themselves to help him.  Wicked men spoke against the king and questioned his ability to save them.  This brings us back to the reason the people asked for a king:  they wanted someone to fight for them, to lead them in and out of battle.  These men wanted a saviour; they were not interested to serve a ruler.  This perspective relates well to our day.  I would say most people are happy to be saved, glad to go to heaven if it exists, interested to be blessed, but are skeptical to lay down their lives to serve Jesus Christ.  They are fine with a Saviour but are not interested to sacrifice themselves in obedience to Him.

The rebels refused to give Saul gifts, yet Saul held his peace.  Later in his reign he would have taken severe and immediate action!  Jesus is the King of Kings and He holds His peace, patiently and graciously waiting for people to repent of their sins and follow Him as Saviour and LORD.  A day will come when Jesus will take vengeance on His enemies, but those whose hearts have been touched and transformed to follow Him will be preserved and protected.  Some wonder how Jesus can save sinners, but He has proved His love and power through His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.  As He rose from the dead so we will be raised with Him and enter into the joy of the LORD.  Let us give Him the gift of our faithful service, for He is the valiant one.  In all who love the Son the Father is well-pleased.

The Dwelling Place of God

It is amazing how God has graced mere men with His presence.  God has made a way for us to enter into His presence, and for His presence to dwell in us through the Holy Spirit.  Paul wrote of what Jesus accomplished in Ephesians 2:18-22:  "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."  Along with all followers of Christ, we are individually and collectively a dwelling place of God.

How remarkable, that God would dwell with and in men!  For all who have tasted and have seen God is good forever changes the way we relate to God and others.  A.W. Tozer wrote of the importance of recognising and cultivating the presence of God in his book The Pursuit of God: "Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies.  God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there.  This is to be known to us in conscious experience.  It is more than a doctrine to be held; it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day...The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence.  The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us."  (Tozer, A. W., The Pursuit of God. WingSpread Publishers, 2006. pages 34; 36.)

So how do we "push on into His presence?"  We like clear checklists for these questions, but God does not provide them for our convenience.  It is not done with the blood of bulls or rams but by the blood of Jesus Christ by faith in Him.  Often seeking God begins with choosing to leave or lay aside something else.  God promised the children of Israel who returned from captivity in Jeremiah 29:12-13:  "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."  This principle is true throughout all scripture.  Paul said to the inquisitive men of Athens in Acts 17:27, "that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us..."  God is not only interested to be sought and found, but for people to know Him.  Pursuit is a relatively short phase in earthly relationships, but the Christian's pursuit of God is to be a continual action which marks all lives of God's faithful followers.  The more we pursue Him the more we find and know Him, and the more we know Him the more we want to pursue Him.

Let us not assume this pursuit of God ends when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts.  It is then when we can commune with God in earnest.  The Holy of Holies was unapproachable by all but the High Priest on the appointed day, but Jesus has made a way for us to enter God's presence to find grace and help in time of any need.  Is there ever a time when we are not needy?  God avails Himself to those who beg for help; He will feed the hungry and quench the thirsty.  He will grant wisdom to those who sense they lack it and humbly seek Him.  When speaking of abiding in the presence of God it is not so much "How To" that is needed but "Will I?"  God has chosen to make His habitation in people who fear Him.  Having invited Him in by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let us also seek Him with our whole hearts.

Love Without Strings

One thing I find remarkable about God is the freedom of choice He grants to all people He has created.  Some wonder if God is loving because of what He allows, but it is precisely by allowing He shows His love and grace.  In this world overwhelmed with sin, hypocrisy, and hopelessness, it is the stark contrast of God's goodness which leads us to Him.

Remember the parable of the prodigal son?  The son demanded his inheritance of his father, and his father complied without complaint.  His father could have decided to "do what is best" for his son by denying his request, but in his generosity - knowing beforehand the poor decisions he would make with "his" money - the father gave the money and all rights to it to the son he loved.  That is a picture of what God has done in giving us life.  He gives life to people who will wrongly use it to hurt others and ruin themselves, but He freely gives life anyway.  It might be, like the prodigal son, when we are at our lowest point we will come to our senses and seek Him out.

God does not force those He loves to do His will, though they be His own children.  After the prophet Samuel's sons demonstrated they were not leadership material, the children of Israel demanded Samuel give them a king to rule over them.  Samuel was rightly upset by this request, for they were glad to substitute to have a man to rule them instead of God.  They wanted to be like all the other nations when God had made a covenant with them, delivered, provided, established, and fought for them.  After Samuel prayed to God, 1 Samuel 8:7 says, "And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."  This is said by a God who has all power in heaven and in earth, who can annihilate His enemies in a moment, the One who discerns the hearts of men and could strike dead all who oppose Him.

People are chronically insecure.  We can feel uneasy because someone does not share our opinion or does something we do not condone.  God did not condone the request of His people, but He told Samuel to listen to everything they said - the same way God listened to everything His people had said.  He told Samuel to first warn the people of the consequences of this foolish decision, but if they did not heed He would grant them their request.  Do you have such confidence in God to refuse to force or manipulate others to do what you want?  God's love does not force others to do anything in return, and keeps loving when others pay it no mind.  How secure is God in His love and grace towards others!  As a husband, parent and friend it is a massive challenge to trust God and love as He does no matter what, to listen to others even when God's Word is not heeded.

After Samuel warned the people of the negative consequences of their choice to have a king 1 Samuel 8:19-22 says, "Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, ²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." ²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. ²² So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."  I am in awe that the God who has all power would submit to the poor choice of His people.  Couldn't God cite His love for His people to refuse such a request?  Men would, but not God.  I praise God for such love, for who can know it?  Our responsibility before God is to love others as He loves us, and let us not use love as an excuse to control.