Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:50,51 NASB)One of the most difficult hurdles to overcome in seeking the glimpses of Himself God hid in Scripture is our ourselves. I have things I want, things I've seen, things I've expected, and few of them correspond to my Master's perspective on things. He sees things differently, and from a different perspective than I have right now. That makes Him difficult to understand.
One of the things of which we seem unaware is our assumption that this place (i.e. the world or earth) faithfully represents what we can expect for the future. Many here are telling us that this world is changing, and our future is uncertain. Others claim that the changes are cyclical and it will all come around again to a better situation. Even if it is cyclical, the number of beings and what they were doing was dramatically different in the last cycle, so the results will be different the next go around. It always takes longer to dry more clothes.
What God inspired in Scripture says that there will be a new heaven and new earth. Since we know so little of the 'heaven' (and I'm referring to astronomical heavens, not spiritual) there's little to gleaned from 'different'; we wouldn't even know really, other than what it looks like. On the other hand, a new earth would be an enormous change for us. Yet, we are so enamored and focused on this one, our lives here, and the next day. It's all going to change.
This experience I pass through here is nothing to be compared to what I will know in heaven (or the new earth). But I still rarely look past the next day. I'm stressed about finishing the next two months well at work, year-end sales, deadlines, and goals. That's not why I was created, and not to what my Master saved me. It's not His purpose for my life, nor was it ever supposed to be my focus. Yet, it's so distracting to me, that I can barely see past it.
We will all be changed, even if we don't all 'sleep'; we will all be changed. This life, and these experiences, are not what make up what I look forward to. In fact, Paul says in Romans 8 that all of creation groans waiting for the 'children of God' to finally be revealed; it's all waiting on us. Everything is looking forward to a new existence; except for us.
Think about the waste of resources in that our Creator gives us minds that can imagine past this existence to new worlds, new vistas, and yet we won't. He says that is what we have to look forward to, not this, yet we see only this because we choose to. As believers and followers of Jesus, shouldn't we be looking toward His throne, His face, His voice? Shouldn't we be looking past what is 'perishable' toward what will never perish? Wouldn't that be a better use of our time and resources? It would give us a hope which would baffle this place and people.
Reality is the term we use to refer to our actual experiences and situations; distinct from what can be imagined or 'dreamed'. For Christians, those who claim Jesus as Lord, who believe He was raised from the dead, for us, reality is actually on the other side of whatever we can imagine or dream. We are called into a new 'reality' redefined by the One who made us, lost us, then saved us, because He loves us.
My challenge is to look beyond my current situation, and let the hope which results make enduring this reality much easier. I let it happen. All I do is focus on my Master's face, His throne, and His glory. Then this stuff will fall into proper perspective for me. Why would I think of worship as merely something I do on Sunday when I desperately need it all the time, just to make it through an hour at work? I think I should be smarter than that.
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