Heaven or God?

Many of us know what it is like to lose a loved one. Whether a brother or a sister, mother or father, grandparent or great grandparent, or even a spouse or a child. I am hurt to say that many have even lost several of those that are close to them.

It is during these times which, no matter what their spiritual status, we will mourn the loss of. If they are a believer, we will be sad...yet joyful, but I cannot even begin to imagine what it is like to lose someone close to you whom you know was not a believer in the saving work of the Lord Jesus.

However, when a loved one who is a believer passes from this life into the next, what do we normally say?

"Well, we know where they are..."

Now this is not necessarily wrong, because if they are truly a child of God, then yes, we know exactly where they are--they are with the Lord Jesus beginning their next stage of life in eternal glory in the Heavenly realms being fully embraced in the power and physical presence of God!

Is the part that I wrote in bold, really how we see it though?

Too often I think when we say, "Well, we know where they are..." we just mean Heaven as a place of no more suffering. Do you know what that tells me? That maybe we place more emphasis on Heaven as the environment rather than on Heaven as the person.

What did Jesus say in John 17:3?

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know You [God the Father], the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."

Now don't get me wrong. I am all for going to Heaven. One day I will be there myself. But what is my focus? Do I just want to be perfect and never suffer again and have everything go according to plan or do I want to know God and be with Him for the rest of my life (all eternity)?

If I am honest, many times I find myself longing to be removed from this fallen world and placed into the Heavenly realms. I mean, in reality, who enjoys feelings of rejection, fear, shame, and guilt? Who enjoys falling into sin...especially a sin that seems to so easily entangle us in our own personal lives? Who enjoys feelings of regret and remorse and experiencing sickness and death?

The answer is no one. We all want to be accepted. We all desire to live fulfilling lives influencing other people. We all long to be exactly what God created us to be because He has put eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11).

The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:8...

"...I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..."

Even Heaven would be a loss if it was missing the Lord Jesus!

Did you know that this same guy said in Romans chapter nine that he would be willing to go to Hell if only the Israelites would believe? He was willing to trade places with the nation as a whole in terms of what environment he would be dwelling in for the rest of eternity. How many of us can honestly say that about the United States of America?

You see, Paul was not focused on what environment he would soon be living in. His concern was on the Person that he would be with--the Lord Jesus.

Instead of saying, "Well, we know where they are..." how about we say something like, "We know who they are with..." Would this at all change our perspective on things?

In all honesty, what is more important: going to heaven or being with God? Where does our trust lie? Where do we find joy and happiness? In what or whom do we really long for? These are questions that must be considered.

Adam to Abram Genealogy Charts

The True Nature of Sin

Two weeks ago I began reading in the book of Ephesians.  As I was meditating upon the first few verses of chapter two, which refer to God having rescued us from the domain of darkness, I was reminded of a verse back in the previous chapter having to do with the greatness of God's power in our lives as believers (1:19).

I recalled from memory a sermon I once heard by John Piper. He taught me that not only has God saved us positionally from the domain of darkness in the past, but God is continuing to save us from the dominion of sin and Hell every single day of our lives.

He helped me to see that the demonic forces did not just give up on me upon conversion or lessen their grip on my life. On the contrary, they are actively seeking to do all that they can each and every day in order to bring me to my death. I cannot even begin to imagine what my reaction would be like if God were to reveal to me how much and how often He saves me from these evil powers.

Nevertheless, God began speaking to me, therefore I began praying. I asked the Lord to help me better understand this concept. I asked Him to show me the true nature of sin. Little did I know that only a few hours later I would be waking up feeling the physical and emotional weight upon my spirit from a terrible nightmare which immediately brought me to my knees.

My Dream

I had just walked out of my office and found my secretary about twenty or so feet down the hallway. There were people passing by and work seemed like just a normal day. My secretary was an extremely unattractive woman. If you were to envision the wicked witch in Snow White you would probably have a good understanding of the way she looked.

I handed her some papers and asked her to make copies for me. Once she agreed, I turned around and began making my way back to my office. As I was walking I could sense that she was following me. I didn't want to make things awkward, even though I knew the copy machine was the other direction, so I resolved in my mind that if she followed me into my office I would confront her and ask her what she wants.

As we got closer to the doorway, she pushed me in and closed the door. Upon catching myself I turned around and began to question her motives. When my eyes met hers I noticed that her appearance had changed. She was no longer this unattractive woman. Instead, it looked like she had just experienced an extreme makeover.

Immediately she began attacking me. She jumped on my back with her arm around my neck and started doing everything she could to bring me down. She was strangling me, hitting me, biting me, etc. I could feel her nails digging into my skin. It seemed that whatever I did she refused to let go. She just continued her relentless attack.

Application

I woke up and completely understood what God was saying. Sin is ugly. In front of many people it is easy for us as believers to be disgusted by sin. In a crowd of people we can see sexually explicit presentations and cast ridicule upon them and throw our disgust and distaste out in the open for all to see and hear. Where many are gathered, we tend to watch our lives more closely than when we are all alone. The reason for this is because often times we fear man more than we fear God.

When people are watching, sin is ugly. However, sin generally becomes attractive when we are in a vulnerable environment. In my dream, sin became attractive when it was me and sin standing there alone in my office where there was not another soul to be seen. Too often I find this to be true for our lives.

I think though, what we tend to miss is that when sin is finally meeting you in one of your vulnerable arenas and is available for the taking, it attacks. I do not mean mild attacks, such as little slaps on the wrist. What I mean is that when sin attacks, it attacks to kill. It wants to beat us down. Its desire is to bring us hurt and cause us to bleed. Ultimately, it wants us to suffer the greatest consequence of all--death.

How often do we consider sin to be mild or mediocre? Why is it that we often times just pass it off and pretend that it is no big deal? When was the last time you sinned and you understood it to be a direct assault upon your life? When was the last time you and I considered our sin to be a life and death issue? Upon reflection, how can this view of sin change the way we respond to temptation in the future?

Conclusion

God answered my prayer and revealed to me only another small glimpse into the true nature of sin. This is what He is actively rescuing us from on a daily basis. If it was not for Him, we would have no escape. However, it is because He is rich in mercy and because of His great love for us that He sees fit to be our constant Hero.

Thanks be to the God who saves!