Revelation 21: 4 NKJV
Someone must have torn down those pearly gates without my knowing it. Indeed, from a young age I was told that living my life with the Lord would provide for me the reward of living with him forever in heaven. However, this week that assumption took a turn for the bizarre in a conversation filled with certain blasphemy. Traditionally, we have seen heaven as that wonderous kingdom far above us where our heavenly Father and Christ Jesus now make their home. Well, the first bombshell to this teaching was the revelation of Christ in me. Granted, I am of the belief that Jesus can certainly be two places at once, but if He is seated at the Fathers side in heaven, how is it that He can abide in me as well {Galatians 2:20}? The idea of Jesus and I crossing paths in heaven before my time has crossed my mind, yet I brushed it off as just heresy or the false teaching of some crackpot pulpit pounder. It turns out that I was only half right. See, there are some aspects of Christianity that you simply don't f#ck with, and changing our entire view of a heavenly paradise is one of those out of bounds teachings better left alone. Leave it be, let us have that place in our hearts where we know we will be when this life we've lived is finally over. Indeed, that's the traditional way of thought, that if we are good little Christians, that we will secure for ourselves a place in Gods mansion. That's right, we've certainly earned our right to walk through those pearly gates and down those streets of gold. This is paradise, the place where Gods children end up. So we've been told at least. At the risk of speaking heresy, what if our traditional view of heaven has been...skewed? What if heaven is here surrounding us now? Well, if your own view of our Lords heaven is gang shootings, drugs and war then you might just be on to something. However, if you see heaven as that paradise promised to us in scriptures, then you, sir, a traditionalist. You see things in the way they're supposed to be, as we've always been taught. To you, heaven is indeed a paradise that we see as our one and only goal in this life. It is the end of our journey of a life of following Jesus. This is where our devotion and good deeds will finally be rewarded. Heavenly rewards? Yeah, that's another thing we've been taught. It seems that a few well behaved Christians will indeed at last see the fruits of their diligence. So, depending upon how I've lived my life here on earth, will I be living in Gods mansion or in a homeless shelter? Will I be driving a Porsche...or a Yugo? Well, like many scriptures, when it comes to heavenly rewards I'm afraid we've been misled.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 NKJV
So, what of those heavenly rewards? Are we now to boast in our own righteousness because we are destined to receive a much better reward than others? I'm afraid that's not how it works. In fact, the apostle Paul reminds us that our salvation is but a gift of God, and not of our own accomplishments {Ephesians 2:8-9}. Indeed, what God has created is for the benefit of all and not just the well behaved few. Remember that there is indeed no partiality with our Lord{Romans 2:11}. Knowing this, it's my belief that we've been fed a false narrative when it comes to heaven. Indeed, the argument can be made that we are experiencing heaven now. Far from being the blasphemy of a old preacher, maybe what we are living now is the heavenly experience we've been told about for so long. Just maybe. But what about the violence and bad things we see every day? Well, there's the rub. Can we trust in our heavenly Father that He can provide us a heavenly experience in the midst of all the pain we see each day? Absolutely. If you recall, nothing is impossible for God {Matthew 19:26}. If it is His desire that He reveal heaven to us then that is what He will do. Who am I to argue with the creator of all we see? So, what should our focus be? Should we focus all of our energy on that shining heavenly city at the end of the rainbow? Or, should our focus be on Christ Jesus and our relationship with Him? I would suggest that our relationship with Christ should be our primary focus. In the end, if we devote our attentions to our entrance into those pearly gates, we might just miss our relationship with He for whom heaven was created.
~Scott~
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