"So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42, HCSB).
I want to dispel the common notion that people have that they want to go to heaven, but are in no hurry to get there! WE ARE JUST PILGRIMS WITH SPIRITUAL GREEN CARDS; DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE OR AT HOME IN THIS WORLD.
As Matthew Henry said: "It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day." We are to live each day as if it were our last and prepare daily to meet the Lord in the air, and we can do this with gusto if we are looking forward to heaven, which means we must have some idea what it is like--through our knowledge is really speculation based on Scripture. "No eye has seen...." Yet we do know some facts and can cast away some common fallacies and misconceptions. For instance, we won't be sitting on clouds playing harps all day. We won't have to go to church (yes and no!). We are the church and we shall worship in all our activities, whether work, leisure, or play, but the Lord will be present to have a Spirit of worship.
There will be work in heaven, but perfectly suited for us and our talents, gifts, and desires--what we enjoy doing! Work will have meaning and not drudgery or be menial and boring, and there will be no physical exhaustion involved because the curse will be removed which made us work by the sweat of our brow. Since Adam worked the Garden of Eden before the curse we know that we are not made for idleness, but in God's image and He is always at work. We express God's image in our work and find fulfillment and satisfaction and meaning in it. If we are faithful in little, we shall be faithful in much and God gives all of us opportunity to express our faithfulness. Many of the tedious chores like hygiene will no longer be necessary, as we know them because we will have spiritual and not physical bodies--sown physical, but reaped spiritual.
We will be recognizable and have none of our physical flaws in our appearance that make us unattractive to others or ourselves--we will appreciate beauty in others and return our identity as men or women but not be given in marriage or be involved in procreation. The most important element of heaven will be our authority over angels and be rulers with Christ--we shall all reign, some of us just have more authority or responsibility due to temporal faithfulness. The key is that we are really servants of the Lord in heaven and be glad we are subordinate to Him. Our bodies are not just improved from this one, but transformed into a new fashion that defies gravity, has no weakness, such as gaining weight, or getting out of shape, and can pass through walls at will, yet eat to prove we really have bodies.
When we realize the wonders and excitement of heaven, then we want to go there and live in light of eternity! Paul said that to die was gain, but to live was Christ (cf. Philippians 1:21)--live or die he was content! You can only really live after you are ready to meet your Maker and have prepared for your final day--you don't want to go unprepared but ready. "... Prepare to meet your God, O Israel," says Amos 4:12 (ESV). Every day when we rise we should announce that we are ready to meet God and ask Jesus if this is the day we will finally see Him face-to-face and be satisfied with the beatific vision. We shall all be changed when we see Him as He is and be fulfilled and completely sanctified or holy and glorified.
Preparing for that day does not mean making funeral arrangements or writing a will, but making your peace with God and being faithful in the calling He has given you. We want to receive a full reward and not just enter by the skin of our teeth, as if by fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15). It is sadly said, that man lives like he's not going to die, and dies as if he never lived--may this not be the case with us, but that we lived to bring glory to God. ("The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," as the Westminster Divines proclaimed. Soli Deo Gloria!
I want to dispel the common notion that people have that they want to go to heaven, but are in no hurry to get there! WE ARE JUST PILGRIMS WITH SPIRITUAL GREEN CARDS; DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE OR AT HOME IN THIS WORLD.
As Matthew Henry said: "It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day." We are to live each day as if it were our last and prepare daily to meet the Lord in the air, and we can do this with gusto if we are looking forward to heaven, which means we must have some idea what it is like--through our knowledge is really speculation based on Scripture. "No eye has seen...." Yet we do know some facts and can cast away some common fallacies and misconceptions. For instance, we won't be sitting on clouds playing harps all day. We won't have to go to church (yes and no!). We are the church and we shall worship in all our activities, whether work, leisure, or play, but the Lord will be present to have a Spirit of worship.
There will be work in heaven, but perfectly suited for us and our talents, gifts, and desires--what we enjoy doing! Work will have meaning and not drudgery or be menial and boring, and there will be no physical exhaustion involved because the curse will be removed which made us work by the sweat of our brow. Since Adam worked the Garden of Eden before the curse we know that we are not made for idleness, but in God's image and He is always at work. We express God's image in our work and find fulfillment and satisfaction and meaning in it. If we are faithful in little, we shall be faithful in much and God gives all of us opportunity to express our faithfulness. Many of the tedious chores like hygiene will no longer be necessary, as we know them because we will have spiritual and not physical bodies--sown physical, but reaped spiritual.
We will be recognizable and have none of our physical flaws in our appearance that make us unattractive to others or ourselves--we will appreciate beauty in others and return our identity as men or women but not be given in marriage or be involved in procreation. The most important element of heaven will be our authority over angels and be rulers with Christ--we shall all reign, some of us just have more authority or responsibility due to temporal faithfulness. The key is that we are really servants of the Lord in heaven and be glad we are subordinate to Him. Our bodies are not just improved from this one, but transformed into a new fashion that defies gravity, has no weakness, such as gaining weight, or getting out of shape, and can pass through walls at will, yet eat to prove we really have bodies.
When we realize the wonders and excitement of heaven, then we want to go there and live in light of eternity! Paul said that to die was gain, but to live was Christ (cf. Philippians 1:21)--live or die he was content! You can only really live after you are ready to meet your Maker and have prepared for your final day--you don't want to go unprepared but ready. "... Prepare to meet your God, O Israel," says Amos 4:12 (ESV). Every day when we rise we should announce that we are ready to meet God and ask Jesus if this is the day we will finally see Him face-to-face and be satisfied with the beatific vision. We shall all be changed when we see Him as He is and be fulfilled and completely sanctified or holy and glorified.
Preparing for that day does not mean making funeral arrangements or writing a will, but making your peace with God and being faithful in the calling He has given you. We want to receive a full reward and not just enter by the skin of our teeth, as if by fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15). It is sadly said, that man lives like he's not going to die, and dies as if he never lived--may this not be the case with us, but that we lived to bring glory to God. ("The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," as the Westminster Divines proclaimed. Soli Deo Gloria!
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