I will grant you that I tend to go overboard at times with superlatives. But when you are limited to language to describe the Creator of the universe and all that He is or does, superlatives are not even enough. Such is the case when faced with the task of describing just exactly how the Holy Spirit has used Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, to speak to my heart. So yes, "Just...Wow!" sums it all up.
I really wanted to wait to post until I'd completed the book and then do a one-time review. But if you've been reading this blog over the last month or so, you'll see that some days there were lessons I just had to share. (see "The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams "Doing What Matters...Watching the Clouds Roll By" "And the Theme Continues" and "Becoming Heaven-Minded") And I already see that even though this may be my last "official" post regarding the book, I pray that the focus on all things eternal doesn't end here. In fact, my plan is to buy a copy of the book and read it with my children for our devotional time once we start back to school. Why? Because I can't imagine a greater gift to my kids than teaching them that they were made for more than this life. They were made for an eternity of adventure and love with their Savior, Jesus.
I've decided to more or less present a summary here...a summary of what I've learned and some of my favorite quotes from the book. It truly has changed my perspective and reminded me that any sacrifices during this lifetime for the Kingdom pale in comparison to what God will redeem, renew and resurrect for the future.
"In a sense, we're already in Heaven with Christ: see Colossians 3:1-4.
Our intimate link with Christ in his redemptive work makes us inseparable from him, even now. As we walk with him and commune with him in this world, we experience a faint foretaste of Heaven's delights and wonders.
Though it's true that Christ is with us and within us while we're on Earth, it also works in the other direction--we're united with Christ, so much so that we are seated with him in Heaven: see Ephesians 2:6
Notice that the following description, written to believers alive on Earth, is in the present perfect (not future) tense, which expresses a completed action: "You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect." (Hebrews 12:22-23)
In a metaphysical sense, we've already entered Heaven's community. By seeing ourselves as part of the heavenly society, we can learn to rejoice now in what Heaven's residents rejoice in. They rejoice in God, his glory, his grace, and his beauty. They rejoice in repentant sinners, the saints' faithfulness and Christlikeness, and the beauty of God's creation. They rejoice in the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom and the coming judgment of sin.
Heaven, then, isn't only our future home. It's our home already, waiting over the next hill. If we really grasp this truth, it will have a profound effect on our holiness. A man who sees himself seated with Christ in Heaven, in the very presence of a God to whom the angels cry out, "Holy, holy, holy," won't spend his evenings viewing Internet pornography.
No wonder the devil is so intent on keeping us from grasping our standing in Christ--for if we see ourselves in Heaven with Christ, we'll be drawn to worship and serve him here and now, creating ripples in Heaven's waters that will extend outward for all eternity." (page 184-185)
And there it is...the reason why I need to become less media-focused...the reason why giving out of our meager income instead of hording all for ourselves...the reason why focusing on relationships that will carry over into eternity instead of chasing after those that really don't want to invest in my life either...the reason why giving away all that I have, even my life, if asked, well...matters. Because when I truly grasp that what matters in Heaven matters here..."it creates ripples in Heaven's water that will extend outward for all eternity." I've yet to find anything else that even begins to compare...have you?
I really wanted to wait to post until I'd completed the book and then do a one-time review. But if you've been reading this blog over the last month or so, you'll see that some days there were lessons I just had to share. (see "The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams "Doing What Matters...Watching the Clouds Roll By" "And the Theme Continues" and "Becoming Heaven-Minded") And I already see that even though this may be my last "official" post regarding the book, I pray that the focus on all things eternal doesn't end here. In fact, my plan is to buy a copy of the book and read it with my children for our devotional time once we start back to school. Why? Because I can't imagine a greater gift to my kids than teaching them that they were made for more than this life. They were made for an eternity of adventure and love with their Savior, Jesus.
I've decided to more or less present a summary here...a summary of what I've learned and some of my favorite quotes from the book. It truly has changed my perspective and reminded me that any sacrifices during this lifetime for the Kingdom pale in comparison to what God will redeem, renew and resurrect for the future.
- "Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight?"--Charles Spurgeon
- Our enemy has deceived us into believing that this life is all there is....even Christians fall prey to this. Why else do we feel like our dying dreams, our squelched passions, our missed opportunities, our sacrifice of pleasure, time or money will never be restored to us?
- If instead we can remember that all of the above are only delayed, then what we feel we have "lost" will not be quite so traumatic. For example, I have since my early 20's had an almost overwhelming desire to travel. God has refined this desire over the years to include service to Him. I can imagine no greater joy in my life than to travel to new places (locally, nationally or internationally) and serve in His name. For far too long, I set aside this passion thinking it just wasn't possible because of family obligations. Now that our children are getting older, for the last two years, I've bemoaned the fact that we don't have the financial resources to do it. (Actually, wallowed is probably a better word than bemoaned). As I see the same passion growing in our daughter, I've become overwhelmed to the point of shutting down and even shutting God out because I "just don't see how it can ever happen." God's loving Spirit has comforted me in two ways: 1. If God calls us to missions for Him...He will make it happen, and 2. When the New Earth is redeemed and renewed to the glory of God, I will not only be able to see the things I've longed to see and experience the cultures I've longed to know...I will be able to witness the perfected versions...as God always intended they should be. Amen!
- "Another reason people assume Heaven is boring is that their Christian lives are boring. That's not God's fault; it's their own. God calls us to follow him in an adventure that should put us on life's edge. He's infinite in creativity, goodness, beauty, and power. If we're experiencing the invigorating stirrings of God's Spirit, trusting him to fill our lives with divine appointments, experiencing the childlike delights of his gracious daily kindnesses, then we'll know that God is exciting and Heaven is exhilarating. People who love God crave his companionship. To be in his presence will be the very opposite of boredom." page 395, Heaven
- "I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed; the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens the nearer my approach to the end, the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse: history, drama, philosophy, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven't given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies within me. When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, "My day's work is done." But I cannot say, "My life is done." My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn."--Victor Hugo, quoted on page 397, Heaven
- And one more, but definitely not the last, area in which I was redirected is just exactly where and how I'm spending the limited amount of time I have left on this Earth that is under the Curse. It's even helped me when advising my kids about relationships and their time spent. Allow me a rather lengthy quote to explain this:
"In a sense, we're already in Heaven with Christ: see Colossians 3:1-4.
Our intimate link with Christ in his redemptive work makes us inseparable from him, even now. As we walk with him and commune with him in this world, we experience a faint foretaste of Heaven's delights and wonders.
Though it's true that Christ is with us and within us while we're on Earth, it also works in the other direction--we're united with Christ, so much so that we are seated with him in Heaven: see Ephesians 2:6
Notice that the following description, written to believers alive on Earth, is in the present perfect (not future) tense, which expresses a completed action: "You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect." (Hebrews 12:22-23)
In a metaphysical sense, we've already entered Heaven's community. By seeing ourselves as part of the heavenly society, we can learn to rejoice now in what Heaven's residents rejoice in. They rejoice in God, his glory, his grace, and his beauty. They rejoice in repentant sinners, the saints' faithfulness and Christlikeness, and the beauty of God's creation. They rejoice in the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom and the coming judgment of sin.
Heaven, then, isn't only our future home. It's our home already, waiting over the next hill. If we really grasp this truth, it will have a profound effect on our holiness. A man who sees himself seated with Christ in Heaven, in the very presence of a God to whom the angels cry out, "Holy, holy, holy," won't spend his evenings viewing Internet pornography.
No wonder the devil is so intent on keeping us from grasping our standing in Christ--for if we see ourselves in Heaven with Christ, we'll be drawn to worship and serve him here and now, creating ripples in Heaven's waters that will extend outward for all eternity." (page 184-185)
And there it is...the reason why I need to become less media-focused...the reason why giving out of our meager income instead of hording all for ourselves...the reason why focusing on relationships that will carry over into eternity instead of chasing after those that really don't want to invest in my life either...the reason why giving away all that I have, even my life, if asked, well...matters. Because when I truly grasp that what matters in Heaven matters here..."it creates ripples in Heaven's water that will extend outward for all eternity." I've yet to find anything else that even begins to compare...have you?
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