Not just for the dead.
Not just for the dead.
My salvation was wrought in Christ’s blood not so God could just get my sorry butt into heaven, but so that I would walk with Him and participate in the holy life in the here and now. There is this characterization of Christians (especially here in America) that they are just biding time until they die. Always looking toward heaven, always singing about the sweet by and by, always wishing that this lust-filled body would melt away in exchange for the one we saw Christ in after the Resurrection. There is some of that wistful longing in my heart. Especially on the dark days when I stare at my hands and wonder how they could have participated in such evil.
Our longing and assurance of heaven should stir us into action. Action that communicates to the world that there is a God who will not be ignored and will, one day, set things back to how He intended them to be in the first place. The longing should embolden us to be the best spouses, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and friends that we can be. The longing should embolden us toward a relentless pursuit of beauty through art, music, poetry and prose, industrial design, and plastics. We should be the most creative, loving, nurturing, caring, friendly, and just people in the world.
Rather than that reality we sit on our hands and in our smugness whisper “Deo Volente” like some kind of secret handshake. Is it any wonder that no one thinks we are relevant? Why no one thinks our philosophy is worth the paper it is written on? Why even we make up phrases like “He is so heavenly minded he is of no earthly good.”? Why not “His longing for heaven is what makes him so outstanding.”? Why not indeed!
My salvation was wrought in Christ’s blood not so God could just get my sorry butt into heaven, but so that I would walk with Him and participate in the holy life in the here and now. There is this characterization of Christians (especially here in America) that they are just biding time until they die. Always looking toward heaven, always singing about the sweet by and by, always wishing that this lust-filled body would melt away in exchange for the one we saw Christ in after the Resurrection. There is some of that wistful longing in my heart. Especially on the dark days when I stare at my hands and wonder how they could have participated in such evil.
Our longing and assurance of heaven should stir us into action. Action that communicates to the world that there is a God who will not be ignored and will, one day, set things back to how He intended them to be in the first place. The longing should embolden us to be the best spouses, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and friends that we can be. The longing should embolden us toward a relentless pursuit of beauty through art, music, poetry and prose, industrial design, and plastics. We should be the most creative, loving, nurturing, caring, friendly, and just people in the world.
Rather than that reality we sit on our hands and in our smugness whisper “Deo Volente” like some kind of secret handshake. Is it any wonder that no one thinks we are relevant? Why no one thinks our philosophy is worth the paper it is written on? Why even we make up phrases like “He is so heavenly minded he is of no earthly good.”? Why not “His longing for heaven is what makes him so outstanding.”? Why not indeed!
Comments
Post a Comment