My small group members would likely accuse me of having a morbid fascination with the subject of death, since each time we meet to select our next study topic, I suggest this one. And each time I am soundly outvoted by majority rule. Perhaps I need to reposition my pitch in more palatable terms like “Life in Heaven”.
The truth is I love to read the glimpses in God’s word of Heaven, and yet they are just that, glimpses. Ever wonder why he didn’t give us more specifics, or why he chose to share what he did? Like for example, I love what he says about my new, imperishable body, particularly when I struggle with unwanted pounds and arthritis pain in this present one!
Then there is that passage about their being no marriage in Heaven. Have you ever read that and felt a little less eager for the hastening of our Lord’s return? Could it be that our great reward and glorious hope will be juxtaposed against a sacrifice of family as we know and love it? After all, paradoxes abound in the Christian faith.
“A mother’s love” is an expression used to signify a depth and intimacy far surpassing most other relationships. The highlights of my life were the moments my children were born and placed into my arms for the first time. The reliving of those memories can bring tears to my eyes in a moment. I can even recall the sweet smell and feel of their soft baby skin against my face and fingers . . . ah, surely a little bit of Heaven on earth.
And what about that treasured husband relationship? Friend, lover, confidant, companion, co-parent, moral, financial and spiritual support, the other half of me. Will the reward of heaven require this great personal sacrifice of my most intimate earthly relationship? How can I reconcile these seemingly paradoxical ideas?
Could it be that God has given us this beautiful family on earth to serve as a picture of our Heavenly family? And might we find that this enrapturing family love will be felt with equal, even greater intensity for each and every brother and sister in Heaven with us? Will I love my Haitian sister, whom I’ve never even met on earth, with at least as much love as I felt when I first held my babies?
The answer for me lies in the character of God, who is love and lavishes love upon us, who alone can be entrusted with our eternities. God has prepared a place for us so amazingly beautiful and perfect, that we are not even able to fathom it.
The resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is the most fundamental tenant of our faith, and is supported with overwhelming evidence which has withstood the test of time and scrutiny. Without this historical fact, Christianity would be relegated to just one more alternative on the menu of world religions.
But Christianity is radically different. The living Christ does offer us a glorious hope in our eternal home with him as well as with those we love. During corporate worship this Sunday, let us look at one another not just through the eyes of brotherly love, but through eyes filled with joyful anticipation of that Resurrection Love which awaits us in Christ. Maranatha!