Have you ever read any of those wonderful "Fairy Tales"? If you are a parent or moved into the grandparent season of life it is likely that you have been exposed. If you do not read them, Disney has put them into animated, computer generated or even live action movies. They hold a common thread. The bad folks lose and the good live "Happily Ever After". You may find your way back to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or fast forward to Frozen or Tangled, the premise is pretty much the same. Who would ever argue against a happy ending?
Many of us look at the world around us and can't wait for the LORD to return. We speak of the hope of heaven (actually the new Jerusalem) as some blissful return to the Garden of Eden. One man said, "It will be like an eternal vacation." It would be hard to find a happy ending that could exceed that story. As for me, I like the poster my daughter has that says, "I don't want a happy ending, I want more story." That is my anticipation. More story. My final resting place will not be some cemetery or perhaps a decorative container with ashes waiting to be returned to the earth. No, I believe there is more story.
Have you heard people say, "Well, when we get to heaven all our questions will be answered." Where do you find that in scripture? There is this strange idea that in some perfect state we will know everything. Maybe, but maybe not. I'm not sure I want to be where I know it all. I want to be amazed in new and exciting ways without the gray shadow of sin corrupting my vision. I hope to serve my Savior in ways I never have before. I want new challenges with a new body that is not flawed by a fallen world. I want to work together with other Messiah worshipers with no divisions, irritation, anger or selfishness. The truth is, I want more story!
I do have hope that this might be so. The two, somewhat parallel, parables in Matthew 25:14-23 and Luke 19:11-19 are said to represent the Kingdom of Heaven. Both speak of a master or lord who leaves with the promise to return. Both also speak of the matter of giving some of his servants talents or minas to care for while he is gone. Upon his return the master asks for an accounting of what they have been given. Two of the three have invested what has been entrusted to them with success. The third has not. I would like to focus on the successful investors. "His lord said to him, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I
will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matt. 25:23) and in Luke 19:17, “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities."
I know that the point of the parables is, to whom much is given much is required. It is also true that there is not necessarily an exact parallel to the Kingdom of Heaven. However, there is an indication that those who join the Master in His Kingdom do stuff. Actually it indicates that they do more stuff. "Ruler over many things" and "authority over ten cities" sounds like an upgrade to me. It also seems that these servants were going to learn a lot of new things. New responsibilities with new things to do. If you have never ruled over ten cities before I would guess that there would be a thing or two that you had to learn to be effective. It also seems that there would be some significant interaction with others to accomplish the task.
God is simply very vague when it comes to the future. The new earth has a new Jerusalem with gates, so it seems we can go in and out. Thus we do stuff. It will be incredible to worship Him without the hindrance of sin and self consciousness. Uninhibited worship with myriads of others just sounds like an awesome experience. Yet, I am not so sure that is all there is. I know I will not be disappointed with whatever eternity turns out to be. However, I really like to learn new stuff. I am pretty jazzed when what was trapped in the darkness of my brain suddenly becomes clear. I honestly do not want the journey to end when the Lord mysteriously transfers or translates me to His eternal kingdom. I don't mean to sound selfish but, I don't want a happy ending, I want more story. How about you?
As you know, at one time I used to love to argue end times, and my understanding often varied from others. Well, I no longer argue eschatology. Your statement that the future is "vague" is precisely why. All end times thinking is speculative, and little more than an educated guess. Were it clear, we wouldn't have so many varying perspectives. The gospel story, I believe, is never ending - even as we approach and enter our eternal state, and the "New Jerusalem." Take heart, therefore, in your desire for more stories. There will always be more stories. I believe that we will be spending eternity learning new things. Peace and love, brother. Rene'
ReplyDeleteHi Paul, this is Harold not Linda as the comment may indicate. I have been reading. The Holy city is approximately 1500 miles by 1500 miles. And it is come down for us. That seems like a lot of room. And the kingdom of God will be at least as big as the new earth which appears to be void of seas and oceans so it seems that we will have more land mass Rev:21:1. So since God obviously has a thing for horses, ect,,,. I won't be surprised to see lots of them. And I strongly suspect Eden with its many fruits and vegetables will be restored. Thanks for your thought provoking sermon.(:
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