One of the most fundamental blunders in the Christian life is forgetting that this world is not our home. Certainly many of us have homes and they happen to be on planet earth, so what do I mean? Our ultimate destination is not this world. I don’t know about you but I’m rather glad about that. But I don’t always live like that’s the case.
One of the great dangers that we as Christians can forget is that God has called us to long for the New Heavens and the New Earth. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, perhaps your first thought is “I didn’t even know there was an upgrade on the way.” It is actually an upgrade and one for which we are all as believers called to long for.
Why is that the case? It doesn’t take a PhD is civics, social studies, geopolitics, or anything else under the sun to know that things on this planet aren’t always the way they’re supposed to be. We have issues at home. We have issues in our community. We have issues at our jobs. We have issues in every part of the world whether its politics at home or internationally. Needless to say, there’s a lot of problems all around – more than enough to pass around if you want.
What’s a Christian supposed to do with all of that? They could ignore it. We are rather good at that, but it isn’t all that useful. We could complain about that. At least in this option we might burn a few calories along the way as we shake our fists in frustration. But neither of these options are properly Christian responses. By “Christian” I mean that most historic and simple sense describing a person “whose faith and life are reflective of the Bible.” So what does the Bible say?
For starters, we turn to the end of the book to be reminded of how we should read our whole situation. When we turn to Revelation 21, we receive a promise of a future wherein God does the impossible, at least as far as our experience goes. God forever abolishes evil, suffering, sickness, pain, grief, sorrow, loneliness, weakness, and every sort of atrocity you’re hoping will pass by you today. God is going to fix it all.
Can you imagine such a thing? A world without every horror that has ever brought a tear to your eyes. A world without failure. A world without fear. A world where everything is precisely as it was meant to be and there is never the slightest chance that it will ever go wrong again. I am actively gazing through the fog and smoke of today’s horrors so that I might make out the beginnings of that glorious world to come.
But if I build such a world and God is not at the center then I’ve created a world that still fails to meet the mark. I create a world where either myself or someone/something else has taken God’s place on the throne. If you’re unfamiliar with the Bible, that’s how every mess in the world got started. We wanted all the blessings of God without Him. This is always a recipe for disaster. This is the source to every sin in our world. We take God’s wisdom and authority and replace it for our own. Somehow we are surprised when it doesn’t work out. But this will always be the case as long as we are living for ourselves, as long as we are the center of our lives.
Is God at the center of your life today? You know whether or not that’s the case. Is He a regular conversation partner when you consider how you live? What about how you date or marry? What about how you raise your children or disagree with your spouse? Has God’s thoughts affected your job and the way you speak about your boss especially when she is out of the office?
God did not send His Son to take a real body and suffer and die on the cross so that your Egg McMuffin could be blessed before you devour it. Jesus didn’t come to help bless you at the ballpark or even to mix up your weekend activities on occasion. God sent His Son to earth so that you could be brought to heaven. It’s just that simple. Jesus said, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40 ESV)
Whether you want to think about it or not, each of us comes with an expiration date. Its hard to swallow, but you know it’s true. And there will come a day when God rights every wrong and renews every part of this broken, crooked, sinful world. But when He restores all things, will that include you? Jesus tells us that “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus is not only the Savior, but He is the gatekeeper to the world that is to come. If you don’t know Him now, He won’t know you then. He will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matt. 7:23 ESV) What are you waiting for? Why gamble with your future? Why add horror to your present? God has already made a way to start here and now the His gift of mercy, restoration, forgiveness and love. Are you heeding the Savior’s call or have you loved your sin in His stead? If you want to love Christ, come to church. Meet His people. Hear His promises. Be encouraged with the songs. Be challenged by the Word. Be renewed by His Spirit. Begin today to taste the joy of heaven here on earth.