The Hope of Heaven
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5).
“Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2).
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. once wrote, “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” I think Johnny Cash had a song along those lines at one time. Certainly, it’s possible to be on such a tangent where you focus so much on the ethereal that you fail to act for good in practical ways. But that is not what the apostle Paul had in mind when he penned the above words to the Colossians.
I’d venture to say the reverse is more common. Many people are so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly good. In other words, they focus on this life to the neglect of what will follow in the next.
The hope of heaven is vital! Why? Because it gives us motive to live sacrificially, to do the right thing in God’s eyes, even when we don’t benefit personally in this life. It allows us to avoid the temptations to sin that may be attractive to us, because with the hope of heaven we see a future source of fulfillment waiting in heaven that lasts forever, so some sacrifice in this short life is worth it. An example in our culture would be the sin of homosexuality.
It’s popular in our culture to say it should be allowed because it’s what makes the person happy. It’s driven by love. But true love is more than feeling, and there are many things that feel good and can make us “happy” and yet are clearly wrong as we call on the teaching of the Bible for our values (drunkenness, pornography, sexual promiscuity, etc.). The hope of heaven says, yes, it may be tough now to deny yourself, but it will be worth it!
Even in the Christian arena, far too many live for this life, wanting God to bless them with success, with health, with money, with social connections, and if God doesn’t, they become bitter and blame God for their misfortune. But what causes misfortune is sin and its consequences. None of us are immune to that. Sin touches the guilty and the innocent. And as the Bible teaches, none of us are truly innocent. Sin wasn’t caused by God; it is a violation of his will (by us). God is the answer to sin’s problem through Jesus Christ. He paves the way to heaven as we yield to Jesus in faith, making him Lord. Doing so doesn’t make things easier. It may make them harder, as we become a target for Satan’s attacks.
But our hope of heaven moves us forward. Much like the hope of the Promised Land moved the Israelites through 40 years in their desert wanderings. Better days with God’s promises were ahead if they only stayed faithful and obeyed him. C.S. Lewis said, “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do,”
I personally believe that “heaven” is the new earth talked about in Revelation 21. Once there, all will be made right! The desires we’ve had in this life that have gone unrealized will finally come to fruition, if they are righteous ones. Happiness will reign! “God himself will be with (us). He will wipe away every tear, death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away… Behold, I am making all things new.” That is the hope of heaven.
Cross Point: John the Baptist prepared for Jesus as he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
“Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2).
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. once wrote, “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” I think Johnny Cash had a song along those lines at one time. Certainly, it’s possible to be on such a tangent where you focus so much on the ethereal that you fail to act for good in practical ways. But that is not what the apostle Paul had in mind when he penned the above words to the Colossians.
I’d venture to say the reverse is more common. Many people are so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly good. In other words, they focus on this life to the neglect of what will follow in the next.
The hope of heaven is vital! Why? Because it gives us motive to live sacrificially, to do the right thing in God’s eyes, even when we don’t benefit personally in this life. It allows us to avoid the temptations to sin that may be attractive to us, because with the hope of heaven we see a future source of fulfillment waiting in heaven that lasts forever, so some sacrifice in this short life is worth it. An example in our culture would be the sin of homosexuality.
It’s popular in our culture to say it should be allowed because it’s what makes the person happy. It’s driven by love. But true love is more than feeling, and there are many things that feel good and can make us “happy” and yet are clearly wrong as we call on the teaching of the Bible for our values (drunkenness, pornography, sexual promiscuity, etc.). The hope of heaven says, yes, it may be tough now to deny yourself, but it will be worth it!
Even in the Christian arena, far too many live for this life, wanting God to bless them with success, with health, with money, with social connections, and if God doesn’t, they become bitter and blame God for their misfortune. But what causes misfortune is sin and its consequences. None of us are immune to that. Sin touches the guilty and the innocent. And as the Bible teaches, none of us are truly innocent. Sin wasn’t caused by God; it is a violation of his will (by us). God is the answer to sin’s problem through Jesus Christ. He paves the way to heaven as we yield to Jesus in faith, making him Lord. Doing so doesn’t make things easier. It may make them harder, as we become a target for Satan’s attacks.
But our hope of heaven moves us forward. Much like the hope of the Promised Land moved the Israelites through 40 years in their desert wanderings. Better days with God’s promises were ahead if they only stayed faithful and obeyed him. C.S. Lewis said, “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do,”
I personally believe that “heaven” is the new earth talked about in Revelation 21. Once there, all will be made right! The desires we’ve had in this life that have gone unrealized will finally come to fruition, if they are righteous ones. Happiness will reign! “God himself will be with (us). He will wipe away every tear, death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away… Behold, I am making all things new.” That is the hope of heaven.
Cross Point: John the Baptist prepared for Jesus as he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Posted in Cross Points