Homecoming (Hunger for Heaven - Part 3/4)
"'The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.' And as He [Aslan] spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.
And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."
~ "The Last Battle" (the last book in The Chronicles of Narnia)
I heard this line while listening to the audio drama of this story a couple months ago (when I first started drafting this post), and it brought tears to my eyes. Well said, C.S. Lewis, well said. Surely eternity with God in Heaven will just be the beginning of the Greatest Story ever told!
This will be an exciting post (I hope), because so far we've talked about what the Bible says our longing for God should look like and some practical ways to cultivate this longing, but today I want to look at some of the reasons the Bible gives us to long for an eternity with God, which I believe can stimulate us to long for Him more in our daily lives.
First, we're going to look at what God says about our future with Him:
"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
~ 2 Timothy, 4:8
In this verse, Paul is clearly confident in his salvation - he knew he had fought the good fight and kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). And yet, he makes a point of saying those like him, who long for Christ's appearing, will also be rewarded. So perhaps this longing can inspire and motivate the action? I think yes! To be HONORED by the King of the Universe? Wow! On the other hand, in verse 9 of this chapter, we hear of a man named Demas who deserted Paul (and presumably his work) because he "loved this world". Good warning.
I absolutely love this next one!
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."
~ 2 Corinthians 5:1-4
I don't know about you, but I often find myself consumed with the desire to be perfect - in action, word, thought, appearance, you name it. I'm not saying this is altogether a good thing, but...I think this verse does a good job at describing all of humanity's desire for perfection - either in themselves or others. There is something in all of us that groans and longs for perfection, immortality, oneness... aren't these the things we were supposed to be in the first place?
So this should be one of the most joyous things we can ever think about!!! Going HOME to where we belong and are perfect and are whole! We get to leave this broken down, flesh-infested body of ours, and everything that was of this world that is mortal and corrupted will be gone. Just. Like. That. Oooh, gives me cold chills!!! Thank you, Lord, for the amazing gift you've given us!!!
And last but certainly not least, a passage similar to the one above:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
~Romans 8:18-25
Not only will we be given a new, whole body in a Home that will never fade away, but there will be complete liberation from all bondage - not only for all of Creation (I'm guessing this means the world itself, but I could be wrong) but even more so for the proclaimed Children of God. This should fill us to the brim with HOPE! And this is the kind of hope where it's not that we're just "hoping" something will happen, but it's because we know it will happen we are given confidence and assurance.
My family is currently going through the process of trying to adopt a little girl from Africa. It has been a very long and difficult road, and there are many obstacles still to be overcome (prayers are much appreciated!). And even when we are officially her family, there's still a long process of being able to bring her home. But the joy of doing so would be astronomical!
God went through so much to be able to call us His children. I think He'd want us to be as excited about our homecoming as He is. :)
In summary, we can long for that future day when we will finally be in our Father's presence because we will be honored for our service to Him, we will be made at home in a state we were always meant to be, and because our hope in complete adoption as His children will finally be made complete!
Whew, isn't this all great! But wait a second...isn't it kind of selfish to long for rewards, heavenly treasures, and blessings from God? Stay tuned for next time!
(Read the answer to this question in part 4/4)
~~~
In Christ,
Ellie
And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."~ "The Last Battle" (the last book in The Chronicles of Narnia)
I heard this line while listening to the audio drama of this story a couple months ago (when I first started drafting this post), and it brought tears to my eyes. Well said, C.S. Lewis, well said. Surely eternity with God in Heaven will just be the beginning of the Greatest Story ever told!
This will be an exciting post (I hope), because so far we've talked about what the Bible says our longing for God should look like and some practical ways to cultivate this longing, but today I want to look at some of the reasons the Bible gives us to long for an eternity with God, which I believe can stimulate us to long for Him more in our daily lives.
First, we're going to look at what God says about our future with Him:"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
~ 2 Timothy, 4:8
In this verse, Paul is clearly confident in his salvation - he knew he had fought the good fight and kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). And yet, he makes a point of saying those like him, who long for Christ's appearing, will also be rewarded. So perhaps this longing can inspire and motivate the action? I think yes! To be HONORED by the King of the Universe? Wow! On the other hand, in verse 9 of this chapter, we hear of a man named Demas who deserted Paul (and presumably his work) because he "loved this world". Good warning.
I absolutely love this next one!
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."
~ 2 Corinthians 5:1-4
I don't know about you, but I often find myself consumed with the desire to be perfect - in action, word, thought, appearance, you name it. I'm not saying this is altogether a good thing, but...I think this verse does a good job at describing all of humanity's desire for perfection - either in themselves or others. There is something in all of us that groans and longs for perfection, immortality, oneness... aren't these the things we were supposed to be in the first place?So this should be one of the most joyous things we can ever think about!!! Going HOME to where we belong and are perfect and are whole! We get to leave this broken down, flesh-infested body of ours, and everything that was of this world that is mortal and corrupted will be gone. Just. Like. That. Oooh, gives me cold chills!!! Thank you, Lord, for the amazing gift you've given us!!!
And last but certainly not least, a passage similar to the one above:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."~Romans 8:18-25
Not only will we be given a new, whole body in a Home that will never fade away, but there will be complete liberation from all bondage - not only for all of Creation (I'm guessing this means the world itself, but I could be wrong) but even more so for the proclaimed Children of God. This should fill us to the brim with HOPE! And this is the kind of hope where it's not that we're just "hoping" something will happen, but it's because we know it will happen we are given confidence and assurance.
 |
| Note: this is not the child we're trying to adopt - we're not allowed to publicize her photo |
God went through so much to be able to call us His children. I think He'd want us to be as excited about our homecoming as He is. :)
In summary, we can long for that future day when we will finally be in our Father's presence because we will be honored for our service to Him, we will be made at home in a state we were always meant to be, and because our hope in complete adoption as His children will finally be made complete!
Whew, isn't this all great! But wait a second...isn't it kind of selfish to long for rewards, heavenly treasures, and blessings from God? Stay tuned for next time!
(Read the answer to this question in part 4/4)
~~~
In Christ,
Ellie
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