Our God In Heaven

When it comes to heaven and the eternal state, not much of the Bible is spent describing it because for us it is beyond description.  Our frame of reference is this world, but the new heavens and earth will be...new.  This is not like Toyota's new Camry which bears a striking resemblance to the previous model:  it will be beyond what our minds can conceive.  It is a world of perpetual day because God supplies the light.  It is difficult for us to imagine the biblical revelation that there is no sea, and New Jerusalem has gates made of a single pearl.  People say "pearly gates" because we cannot imagine an oyster that enormous, but God doesn't need oysters to create exactly what He wants.

We are creatures of schedules, routine activities, and special plans so therefore we have great interest in how this will look in heaven:  what will we do, who we will see, and how a daily routine might look.  Very little if anything is mentioned on this subject.  Somehow the idea has drifted around (probably bad theology from cartoons) our heavenly activities will be little more than sitting around strumming on harps.  But this is a myth with no basis in reality, for apart from the 24 elders seated around God on the throne there is no mention of benches, lounges, or pillowy clouds.  We sit because our legs grow tired, but who is exhausted in heaven? 

Because we are finite humans who live on earth I believe we often ask the wrong questions.  We obsess over the things or people we can idolise.  People in all seriousness ask if there will be golf or baseball in heaven.  They wonder about whether we will have dogs or cats as pets.  "What would heaven be without animals or sport?" people wonder.  This is simply answered:  infinitely better.  In asking such a question we are like hungry children who look forward to their morning gruel, for what could breakfast be without it?  Heaven is not eggs and bacon compared to gruel but an existence of complete satisfaction without hunger, thirst, crying, or even digestion.  What some consider the most important meal of the day will be consumed by the presence of the God who created, loves, and chose us to be with Him forever.

And that's another thing.  It is incredibly odd to me how people romanticise about people they will see and surprisingly Jesus is not always mentioned among them.  Entering the eternal state will not be like going to a party where you introduce yourself with a handshake or hug and gravitate to preferred company, food, or activities.  We imagine the queue to meeting Jesus like a two-hour wait to go on a ride at an amusement park and skipping it to hang with Moses and David - especially because we have some burning question to ask them.  Really?  Do we not realise heaven will be heaven - not because we will have mansions, crowns, or authority but because God is there and we saints by His grace will be glorified with Him?  What or who can rival the presence of God?  For our earth-entrenched minds, sadly, quite a lot.

Consider the testimony John witnessed of the four living creatures and the 24 elders in their worship-loop around the throne of God in Revelation 4:8-11:  "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ¹¹ "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."  We cannot conceive not needing to rest, nor to have the supreme focus to worship God continually without respite.  To many it seems ridiculously boring, but that is the flesh talking.  God is worthy and we will delight to praise Him; He will be our central focus.  Crowns are symbols of royalty and authority, and to be in God's presence and not be consumed will be an everlasting thrill.

Let me encourage you:  don't try to dumb down heaven to earthly conceptions.  The scattered descriptions of heaven in the Bible barely scratch the surface because it would be completely lost on us.  When Paul had a heavenly revelation he declared it was unlawful for him to even speak of it - contrary to modern authors today who sell their stories.  What has been revealed makes us scratch our heads and wonder because it is foreign - yet glorious.  1 John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."  In what ways shall we be like God?  John didn't know, and neither do I.  But suffice it to say any conception we could possibly have of heaven is ridiculously poor.  The human intellect, creativity, and imagination has limits, but God will undoubtedly blow our feeble opinions and assumptions away with what He has prepared for us.

Members of Christ's Body

"And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

1 Corinthians 12:26-27

These are verses I have been thinking over lately.  It is amazing how we are adopted by God into His family by faith in Jesus Christ, and by God's grace we are collectively added to the Body of Christ, the church, as individual members.  The church has many individual members which comprise the whole, but there is only one Head of this body:  Jesus.

Though the functions of the various parts of the body are varied and important, nothing is as critical as the head which has capacity to see, speak, hear, smell, taste, and feel.  Jesus is the One who sees all, spoke the world into existence, and hears all who cry out to Him in faith.  He created all the diverse scents and flavours, and His knowledge of us and depth of feeling for us is beyond our comprehension.  If a single sparrow falls to the ground on the globe it does not escape Him, and are we not far more valuable to Him than the birds of the air?

When a part of the body is injured, all the body is notified by discomfort and pain.  After I hiked through bush later I realised I had scratched my lower legs and needed to wash and treat the bleeding skin to prevent infection.  To do this required the attention of the whole body to locate and retrieve the antiseptic to clean the wounds.  My eyes showed me where treatment was needed, and my hands did the work of washing and applying antibiotic ointment and dressings.  My legs were not running on a treadmill when I put my first-aid training to work, nor were my hands balled into fists in boxing gloves as I slugged a heavy bag for exercise.  My shins suffered damage, and the whole body laboured towards healing and restoration of the wounded parts.

The human body has an internal nervous system which communicates a message of pain which prompts our eyes or hands to search to find the source.  It is an intricate and amazing system but it pales in comparison to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone who is born again.  Our connection to Jesus is not with nerves which can be pinched or numbed but is a spiritual one with no risk of blood clots, losing circulation, or being completely severed because we are one with Christ as a member of His body.  Our physical bodies remain prone to illness and injury, but in Christ we are immortal and eternally seated with Him.  The Holy Spirit is able, without us even saying a word, to prompt others to pray for us and reach out to help us.  We also have been given mouths and can speak to our fellow believers, and when we humble ourselves to admit our pains others can support and encourage us.  But our peace, healing, help, and life remains in God alone.

How does it feel knowing you are part of the body of Christ?  We need never feel forsaken or forgotten in Christ.  We are often forgetful and even the severity of our injuries escape our notice, but nothing escapes the watchful eye of our Saviour who created and loves us.  The blood coursing through my legs began clotting hours before I even noticed I was cut, and Jesus provides for every physical and spiritual need we have - sometimes long before we ever thought to ask.  We ought to seek Him and make our requests known to Him, for in doing so our faith is demonstrated in obedience.  May we honour Jesus Christ above all members of the Body, and in doing so there is always great cause for rejoicing.

When You Cannot See

When we go through hard times, we can feel swept off our feet and cast down without hope.  It's also tough when things are going well and depression unexpectedly hits.  Christians with genuine faith are no exception.  Sometimes we are not alright and we can feel something is very wrong, though we can't put a finger on it.  I can compare my experience after delivering a sermon to someone suffering from postnatal depression yet on a spiritual level.  I want to "hit it out of the park" at every opportunity God provides me to preach, yet I often kick myself for falling short.  Then I need to dust myself off and throw myself into the process of preparation again - despite feeling down and worthless.  There are fleeting times of encouragement and the euphoria of apparent usefulness or progress, but these glad feelings can instantly evaporate as I sink to great depths and wonder if it is time to hang up the boots.

Apparently I am not alone in the struggle with feeling low as I labour in the Word and seek to follow Jesus.  The LORD prompted me to read a chapter called "The Minister's Fainting Fits" in Spurgeon's Lectures To My Students, a book which has been very useful to me over the years.  It is absolutely crammed with scriptural content and wisdom which has challenged and encouraged me.  The quote is long, but allow me to share the last paragraph from the aforementioned chapter as it was what I needed to hear today - and hopefully will be a blessing to you as well:

"The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble.  Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience.  Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness.  Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward.  Even if the enemy's foot be on your neck, expect to rise and overthrow him.  Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not His saints.  Live by the day - ay, by the hour.  Put no trust in frames and feelings.  Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement.  Trust in God alone, and lean not on the needs of human help.  Be not surprised when friends fail you:  it is a failing world.  Never count upon immutability in man:  inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment.  The disciples of Jesus forsook Him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers:  as they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure.  Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret.  Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.  When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your conscientiousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full except in the Lord.  Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter.  Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you.  Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light:  faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great guide.  Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all provided for by our covenant Head.  In nothing let us be turned aside from the path which the divine call has urged us to pursue.  Come fair or come foul, the pulpit is our watch-tower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we cannot see the face of our God, to trust under THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS." (Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Complete & Unabridged. Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. pages 154-165)

Suffering for Speaking

Australian rugby union superstar Israel Folau made waves by a social media post which urged sinners of all kinds to repent with a list of verses from the Bible.  The Rugby Union Player's Association quickly denounced and distanced itself from the comments, and reports say Folau will be sacked for his repeated transgressions.  According to reports it was his lumping in of homosexuality in a list of sins where the Player's Association has lost patience, as he has been warned about this in the past.

Tracey Homes wrote an article on the ABC website and brought up points to consider should Folau be fired as a consequence of his social media posts:  "Are his posts inciting violence? Do they qualify as "hate speech"? If the answer is yes, then what does it say about the future of others in the game who hold the same views or religious beliefs? For too long those who identify as LGBTQI felt they had to be silent if they wanted to be accepted in sport — that is changing, and sports like rugby in Australia are helping create environments that are far more welcoming. The danger is that rather than ending the silence, another group now faces the prospect of being silenced."  Because Folau was seen to "vilify" particular sinners, he is now viewed by many as a hateful and homophobic villain.  My opinion on whether Folau should have posted what he did or the response of the union counts for nothing so I will not weigh in on it.  It seems the opinions of people are often only noticed when they offend someone.  What I can say with certainty is severe consequences like these towards people who believe and proclaim the scripture is to be expected and predictable.

It didn't take long for the news outlets who reported the firing of Israel Folau to dredge up an old video of him preaching and disparaging Christmas and Easter.  Again, the points he makes are his own and I see no reason to bat him or them around.  The point I take from this it is a graceless world in which we live where everything we say and do can and will be used against us.  Instead of cowering in fear or silence, however, we ought to continue to speak the truth in love:  our words should not be uttered to stir the pot, accuse, or condemn but humbly as we are led by the Holy Spirit.  Men who feared God in both the Old and New Testaments (and Jesus Himself!) were persecuted and punished for speaking the truth revealed by God.  Paul said as a matter-of-fact in 2 Timothy 3:12-13:  "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."  When a person makes a stand for Jesus and the Bible as the Word of God, persecution and vilification is part of the deal.

In this perfect storm of social media, political correctness, and the fierce collision of worldviews, those who hold fast to God's Word can expect to cop a beating.  Praise the LORD there is abundant consolation in Jesus Christ for all the pains we endure, regardless of whether we deserve punishment or are censured unfairly.  The faithful followers of Jesus who were upbraided, threatened, and beaten for teaching in the name of Jesus, Acts 5:41-42 reveals how we too ought to respond:  "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. ⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."  To all who agree with God's Word and admit they are sinners and need saving, Jesus is the only Saviour.