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Right now I am consumed with some thoughts that are crushing me. I have been to several funerals of friends and family in my life. Most of them were Christians, although there are a few that I am not sure about. In all of these funerals there was a reccurring theme. That person is in a better place and we will see them again soon. As I think about heaven, I ask myself what we will be doing there for eternity. Streets of gold can only satisfy for so long (maybe 5 minutes with my attention span), and eventually I think that I will get tired of talking with people who have gone on before me. Is that what is suppossed to make heaven great? Of course there wont be any more sickness, pain, tears, or fighting. Just peace and happiness and a neat little harp and my own little cloud and maybe even a sweet set of wings (alright maybe none of the last things will be there). None of that matters....none of it satisfies and makes me long to be there. I want to quote a John Piper book called God is the Gospel page 15 which says it well. He wrote:
"The critical question for our generation- and for every generation- is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the firends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leasure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, and all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?
"And the question for Christian leaders is: Do we preach and teach and lead in such a way that people are prepared to hear that question and answer with a resounding No?"
There are times when I would have to honestly answer no to that question. There are times when I am not that satisfied in Christ. These are times that I need to repent of. I do want to share one personal example. After my dad died a few years ago, I would think about heaven a lot. I would long to see my dad again and just be with him again. One day I realized that I was longing to see my dad more than Christ. I believe that is sin. I repented of that, because Christ is supposed to be the sarisfaction of my heart. I was talking with Holly here in the firehouse and she gave a great example that I want to share. She said that it is like a kid that has everything but isnt loved. We have all heard stories of kids whose parents give them everything they could ever want, except for themselves. The parents shower them with ipods, video games, and toys; but never spend time with them. The kid would give up all the stuff to have time with the parents (although if he could have both it would be great). That is what heaven would be like without Jesus. We would be the kid with all of the cool toys, but we would be unsatisfied because all we really wanted was to spend time with our Father. To be with Him. I thought that she gave a pretty good illustration. Think about it. Would you be satisfied with heaven if Christ wasnt there? Is that the faith that we are supposed to have?
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4 comments:
thought provoking indeed!
Fayez, thank you for your transparency in this! We talked a lot about heaven in Sunday School this past week, and it made me cry to think that I won't be married to Matt in heaven (a mortal feeling much like yours towards your Dad). We just can't imagine how wonderful it will be to be with Jesus and how insignificant our mansions will be. It makes me want to worry a lot less about money here on earth for sure.
There is a verse that I hate but ultimately it makes me long for heaven. It's in Luke 18, vs. 29-30. Peter has just exclaimed to Christ that the disciples have given up EVERYTHING to follow Him! And Jesus replies: "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." I hate this verse because I'm afraid that one day my husband will feel inspired by this verse to leave me and the kids behind to further the kingdom, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that? Is that wrong? The disciples DID leave their wives and families to follow Christ, and with great purpose. Anyhow, that's TOTALLY not the point. My point is that Jesus understands how desperately important our relationships are to us with the people that we love. And I have to believe that since He is possibly calling us away from these relationships (which are simply gifts from Him anyway) that the relationship that we will have with Him there "in the age to come" will SO far outweigh the joy we can have now that it is not even comparable. I know that this is not in direct response to your question of whether or not we are living in a way that suggests that He would be enough if He was all heaven was (or that heaven would NOT be enough if He was not there), but this passage excites me to place well-founde hope (I believe it's well-founded) in a place that is joyous beyond what experience here could compare to.
i read some of your posts. but this one caught my eye.. mostly because you showed vulnerability with your feelings about your dad. Feelings i think most can relate to... but i think you should give yourself some grace here... it is ok to miss your dad and even long for his companionship. There is nothing sinful in that. Though you know your own heart... better than but from what you wrote.. i felt it was not idolatrous and nothing to feel shame for.
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