"If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever enjoyed, and all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven if Christ were not there?" - John Piper, God is the Gospel
This question really struck me. It's easy to know what the right answer is but harder for the right answer to be what I really believe in my heart.
In the past I used to think mainly of heaven in "spiritual" terms and the best thing about it was definitely having our Lord Jesus at the centre with us all marvelling at how amazing he is. More recently I've focussed on heaven as the new creation, and have seen that our final hope is not to go up into the sky but to live in this world after it has been remade by God, with all the good things that we see around us now only much better - Eden both restored and improved, and it's right for me to think that way because that is what Revelation ends with, but as I have changed my concept about what "heaven" will be like, I think that I have lost focus on the fact that the best thing about it will still be that God - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be right at the centre and we will see them face to face, and seem to have missed that Revelation does describe a new creation and in doing so it says that the best thing about is that the refrain that echoes throughout the Bible will be fulfilled as the dwelling place of God will be with man - we will live with the one who spoke us into existence when we were not and who determined that we should live forever in happiness with him -
"He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God." Rev 21:3 ESV
Monday 16 August 2010
The Gospel
The following are links to websites that clearly explain why Jesus is such good news:
Two ways to live - http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/
Two ways to live - http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/
Saturday 14 August 2010
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