Well, Father, today sure didn’t go as planned, but some things of necessity were taken care of. Thank You for bringing it all together. Now, please bless our time together. May I receive the words that communicate Your heart and desire. Amen.
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I’ve shared before that most of the sermons I preach, at their core, are from other pastors. Bi-vocational ministry can be challenging, and rehashing and reworking someone else’s discourse saves me a tremendous amount of time. One of my favorite contributors is Rev. Rodney Buchanan – I’ve also referred to him in past posts.
This past Sunday’s sermon was one of his entitled, Thoughts on Heaven (click on it to hear it – the sermon begins at the 14:28 mark.)
One portion of the sermon that intrigued me dealt with our relationships with others in Heaven. First of all, it states in Revelation 21:1-2,
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. NIV
So at least a part of Heaven will be the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, and then from 2 Corinthians 5:1 we read,
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. NLT
So, new bodies living in a new city, but what is the purpose of these? It means that we will be living in community with thousands upon thousands of other people, and it will not be like so many of our relationships today. The relationships to come will only contain the best of the relationships we experience today. We will live in deep, meaningful, wonderful, fulfilling relationships with others.
Gone will be the egotism, wounds, personality flaws, and misunderstandings that make relationships difficult here. We will see as we are seen and know as we are known. Paul said,
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete]. But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away… For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God].” 1 Corinthians 13:9-10,12 AMP
So many people feel that to be complete, they must find their “soul mate.” Can you imagine having all of Heaven filled with soul mates? It will not just be people who are exactly like us but people who are wonderfully different from us. There will be people who lived thousands of years before us, people who spoke other languages…, and people of other races, nationalities, and personalities – all reflecting the glory of God through their characters and ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
God made us all to be exactly who He meant us to be! What a glorious time it will be – with our Heavenly Father and all of his children for eternity!
Oct 31st, 2023, Tues, 5:39 pm
