"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.' " - Revelation 21:4-8 ESV
"But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths." - Genesis 3:4-7 ESV
Over time my view of Heaven has changed.
Many writers write about Heaven as this cure all, fix all pie in the sky place... but we will still be the person we are right now inside. Maybe we don't want that.
"But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'-- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." - 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 ESV
Adam woke up one morning and life was good and he went to sleep that night and life was bad because his thinking had changed. The fruit gave him forbidden knowledge that he used against himself, his wife and then ultimately God. Things started to decay from that moment on and sin began to add to sin causing ever worsening problems as time passed.
Jesus did something amazing when He redeemed us.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:28-31 ESV
If we have received Christ then God has given us an identity in Heaven and we are not spiraling up to meet that identity. We are that person. It is just hidden in a body that hasn't been redeemed yet.
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 ESV
Adam hated himself. If we know God then we have no reason to live that way anymore. Adam blamed others for his actions. We have no reason to do that anymore because of what Jesus has done.
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV
Yes. What a glorious day that will be. That day does give us hope.
Today we don't have to live hoping that day will come to change us and fix everything. We can live in the present reality of the new nature. Yes. There is still pain and sorrow to deal with.
Adam was grumbling before he left the garden and got much more to grumble about. We can praise God when we are still on the Earth expecting that it won't be long before we are surrounded by glory all the time.
Living in grace uncovers who people really are now. Heaven will make that which is invisible visible... death will harden the mold of the decisions we have made in this life forever.
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." - Daniel 12:2-3 ESV
Living in the truth now will add more light to what we see later.
--
No comments:
Post a Comment