THINGS ARE NOT AS THEY SEEM

Mystic Reality

I am sure most of us have seen the movie, "The Matrix" at least a couple of times. I am talking about the first movie, not the sequels. What I would like to share with you is this. "Things are not as they seem."

Two men are seated across from each other in a dark room. Outside, a thunderstorm rages in the night, shaking the old house to its foundations. flashes of lightning are dimmed by heavy curtains, which have been drawn because it is a secret meeting. This is the first time these men have ever met, though they have been searching for each other most of their lives. Not a moment too soon, their destinies have crossed. One of them, a tall black man all dressed in black, carries the aura of a spiritual master. The younger man, trying his best to conceal the fact that he is frightened and uncertain, might become his disciple. It all depends on a decision. And those of us who have seen the movie knows what is soon to take place. Will he chose the blue pill - and the story ends, or does he chose the red pill and stays in Wonderland and Morpheus shows him how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Lucy steps through the wardrobe; Aladdin rubs the lamp; Elisha prays that the eyes of his servant would be opened; Peter, James, and John follow Jesus up to the Mount of Transfiguration. They all suddenly discover that there is far more going on here then meets the eye. The movie The Matrix is a parable, a metaphor - and though a dark story, it is closer to reality and to your life than you probably have been led to believe. The question Morpheus asks of Neo is a question the Scriptures ask each of us: Do you want to see?

So do you really want to see; do you want to know what you are all about; do you really want to have your eyes opened to the rest of the story in your life? If you do, pick up a copy of John Eldredge's book Waking the Dead, and you are going to find out that there is more going on here than we imagined. Having read the book, I can tell you that you are going to find out that you are not in Kansas anymore.

Heaven, what is it like

A couple of Sundays ago in a Sunday school class that I have been facilitating, (and I say facilitating as I am not a teacher) on ‘Knowing God’ by J. I. Packer, I asked this seemingly simple question.

Do you think about heaven, and if you do, what is your perception of what it’s going to be like?

I received the standard answers of mansions, streets of gold, no more crying or tears, no more cloudy days. Some even went to what some of us have heard that we would be doing there, singing praises to God twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, exception being on a leap year, etc.

This past Sunday, a brother wanted to tell the group that he had never gave it that much thought, but after the question had been asked, he begin to wonder why he hadn’t. And I suppose most of us fit in that area of limited knowledge of the most wonder treasure that Jesus himself promised those who would deny themselves and follow him. It’s not a hope that we have, but a promise and those of us who have drawn closer to God over the years understand that God keeps his promises. I have a little trouble with the word ‘hope’, but that’s another story.

So what do we, as Evangelical Christians know about heaven? We probably should know more than we do for as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:11 tells us that we are aliens and strangers in this world, and that we are not to conform to it’s sinful desires. The reason we are aliens and strangers here, and at times we are treated as such, is because the world prefers to ignore God.

Matt 13:44-46 explains it’s priceless value. No amount of money or influence or position in this world will gain you a place in heaven. That it cannot be earned by being good because we can never be good enough. We can be the most incredible humanitarians on the planet and if the love of Christ is not in our heart goes for naught. It’s a heart thing.

Some times heaven and eternity are used in the same sentence and I guess that is all right as long as we understand that eternity is not what is going to take place someday, but it’s what has begun in the heart of everyone who has accepted Christ. In other words, we don’t die and eternity begins. In Matt 10:7 Jesus says that all who follow me and believe who I say I am have heaven already in their hearts. It’s a heart thing.

In Revelation 4 & 5 we are given a view or foreshadow of that which God has prepared for us so that we will not be afraid of future events. Another verse that will open one’s eyes is Mark 12:25. Here the Sadducees had asked a question of Jesus, “when the dead arise, they will neither marry not be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” I have footnote in my Bible that says that the Sadducees real question was not about marriage but about the doctrine of resurrection. The reason they asked Jesus this question was because they only believed in the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy), Jesus quoted from Exodus 3:6 to prove that there is life after death. The Pharisees had overlooked this verse in their debates with the Sadducees. God spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob years after their deaths as if they still lived. God’s covenant will all people exists beyond death.

In Mark 12:25 God sidestepped the question of the Sadducees, thus not falling into their trap. In reading the verse one may tend to say no, but we must remember that what becomes lost on earth will be made new again. I believe as do many that we will recognize our partners in heaven. God’s new order will not be an extension of what we are experiencing now on earth, but a new life without the hindrances of sin and evil. As Paul writes in 1 Cor 2:9, God will create a new place for those who love him.

If you want to know what heaven is like? Seek Gods face and walk with him and he will show you all things.

What we know or may have heard or taught, I believe we will be blown away beyond our wildest dreams when we finally reach our eternal home, heaven.