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Our discussion in this BLOG thus far has been centered on
returning to the destiny we were created for, and doing that in the here and
now. When we allow Christ to remove the
inhibitor of evil from us, the chains of addiction to self, we become free to
experience things we never thought possible before. Thus mediocrity meets its death, and
boundless potential becomes our daily mantra grounded in Christ. But our spirituality includes more than what
we do, and why we do it, it also includes “who” we were intended to be. While we allow Christ through our daily
surrender to change us at the core of who we are, the process of re-creation is
not merely to “remove”, it is also to “replace” and “renew”. Who we were in our sinful state will
ultimately be fully replaced, but the person we are to become, or are becoming,
also has a purpose that is unique, and will fill a vital role throughout
eternity. Playing the harp may be yet
another gift or ability we receive in the holy city, but it is not meant to be
our sole occupation, or our unique purpose.
Thinking that God only ever wanted to create a huge heavenly orchestra consisting
of nothing but harps denies just about everything we know, and can read about
God throughout scripture. And while I
enjoy the thought of mastering what is for me a new instrument such as the
harp, by the instant gift of God, I also wonder if the promise of “harp”
playing was meant to be literal (i.e. everyone gets a golden harp), or more
figurative (everyone will have skill where it comes to playing an instrument in
heaven’s orchestra of perhaps even unknown origin). After all the variety of “stringed”
instruments that exist in our world of sin far exceeds a simple harp, why would
I assume instrument selection to be so limited in heaven? Perhaps my assumption is based more in myth,
than it is in God’s actual intent.
Next up, we should examine that heaven and eternity will not
be a place of monotony and repetition. Our
story begins with God’s creative work.
Our very existence is a product of creation, of genesis, of going from
non-existence into the latest, newest creation of our God. Do we presume He has never done this before
us? If so, where did the angels come
from, let alone the remainder of our universe?
And so, do we presume that God will go on permanent vacation after we
all get back home, never to create again?
It looks to me like God enjoys creating new things. He seems to have no limits to His
imagination. When I look around me at
the elements containing just some form of life the variety is astonishing. I love my two Akita dogs, they are brother
and sister. Each has a unique personality
despite coming from the same parents.
Each looks different, each has similar characteristics, but I could
hardly confuse the two of them, as they are decidedly two unique dogs in the
history of the dogs I have encountered in my life. And they are merely the two closest examples
of living creations I can site. I also
have a cat, and a bunny. These other 2
living beings add an entirely new dimension to witnessing love expressed, and
don’t even come close to covering the wide spectrum of living things that
surround my day-to-day world. Add to
that, plant life; yet another form of living creation that surrounds my world
with infinite variety and joy. I love
walking barefoot on a full grass lawn, or mossy creek bottom. I loved climbing trees in my youth, and enjoy
their shade in my elder years. The
majesty of a redwood is still a sight to wonder at in the forests of northern
California, no less beautiful than the Joshua tree in the high deserts. The level of unique creation just within a
species in our world, should give us the clue that our God appreciates variety,
uniqueness, and has no limit to His imagination where it comes to creating new
things from nothing.
When I cannot find two identical trees, two identical dogs,
or two identical snowflakes in a world populated with those creations; why
would I think the purpose I was created for on an eternal basis is only to
perform the same function as everyone else?
God has something in mind for me, that is unique to me. He intends a purpose, a role, an agenda that
will last through the ages. What is
more, it will be something that I will love to do. I can have every confidence in this, because
every time I have let God have His way with my life, I have LOVED the
results. My greatest problems originate
when I attempt to exert my own ideas and control over me. Surrender, leading to re-creation, has a
consistent record of bringing joy to me and removing pain. It is because of what He has done, and is
doing for me, that I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that I want to praise His
name. The concept that we were “created”
for nothing more than to praise God is only another lie of His enemy. God did not create us to boost His ego (I do
not believe God even has an ego). That
myth is perpetuated by His opposite.
Satan is obsessed with us worshipping him. God is not.
True heart-felt worship in gratitude cannot be manufactured or demanded. It comes naturally. It comes because it cannot be denied or
contained. When we see the love of God
for us doing such marvelous things in our lives, we cannot help but praise and
thank Him for it. We can recognize God
as the supreme being, as Satan must, without wanting to worship Him. But when we allow our God to re-create our
lives, love infects us, and love causes us to see our gratitude and wish to
share our joy. The harp, or instrument,
I will play in heaven to honor my God will itself be a unique expression of
what He has done for me. That experience
will be unique to me, though common in that He saved me like He saved you, like
He saved everyone. Even in my praise,
God will see a distinction that is unique to He and I; a unique voice in His
choir of voices, a unique sound in His orchestra of music.
So if eternity will be a time of infinite creation, infinite
genesis, then the number of things to do will also be expanding eternally. Even if it is my role to do a certain task,
it is also likely that the number of tasks I am assigned will ever be
increasing as new things are ever part of my experience. It is not about mastering everything we can
put our finger on today (though perhaps that itself would be an admirable goal
for eternity), it is about the idea that there will always be something new
springing in to existence that God is capable of envisioning. Even if I could achieve a mastery of all the
accumulated knowledge to this date, there would ever be something new to
learn. And as God transcends our ideas
of space and time, i.e. He exists infinitely going back in time from our
perspective, I could spend eternity looking backwards at “history” just trying
to “catch up”. But I doubt God is
looking to make me a historian attempting to trace back information infinitely
(though I suspect this might be a historians greatest dream). I think rather He intends a purpose for me
now, and going with Him into the future.
I do not know what it is today, but it inspires me.
Career is something we tend to measure ourselves by in this
world. We are known first by our name,
but perhaps second by what it is we do “for a living”. It is perhaps only a third reference who our
family associations are. For instance,
it is common for me to say for example … “Oh that is Howard, he runs the
Pharmaceutical areas over at Florida Hospital, I think he is single right now,
but probably looking.” His name, his
occupation, and his family status all seem to identify this person from
another. Career itself is how we spend
the majority of our time. It does not
completely define us, but it offers an idea of our skills and interests. In this world, it may not have been our ideal
choice, but this world is obsessed with “earning a living”. When “a living” is no longer the goal of our
career, and when God Himself is our new boss, what might our “occupation” look
like in that scenario? We might even be
recognized in a similar way in the heaven that is to come. For instance … “Oh hi, my name is Kristian
(substitute whatever God decides to call me here), I help God out by exploring
alternate universes in multiple dimensions out on the back quadrant (or
substitute whatever task God might ask me to do), this is my wife and children
…”. While I cannot even guess what God
may decide to call me right now, or what He might have destined me to do, I do
know it will be something I will love and will be unique to me. Everything about what God has done for me
already has taught me that. The process
of re-creation itself has taught me that.
It does not have to be completed in me yet, for me to see beyond the
horizon is SO much God intends for us.
To say we were all destined for greatness, is to put too
small a limiter on what God actually intends for each of us. The highest ambition of each angel
surrounding the throne of God, is to do what He asks. The highest fulfillment of perfect beings is
to be used and utilized by our loving God.
This culture of service is one that can infect us, as we submit
ourselves to our Lord, and allow Him to remove the “me” in me. Re-creation is not merely about removal of
self, it is about potential and purpose and something new that takes the place
of self-obsession and its limitations.
Our destiny has purpose and meaning.
It will be something that is unique and required or needed. We did not come into existence casually, or
by accident of astronomical odds. We
were designed, with intent, and with purpose.
As we look around us and recognize that each person is unique, so we can
believe that each person’s purpose is also unique. It is because each of us is precious to God,
that God was willing to come and sacrifice Himself to save each of us. Even if it were only you who would have
accepted the salvation of God from evil, He would have come, lived, and died
just for you. One person is so precious
to God, that He would have seen His sacrifice as worth it, just for one (see
the parable of the 99 sheep and 1 lost).
That makes each of us not only unique, but necessary to God.
In our world we seek to be needed, but we should be looking
beyond our world, to really measure what needed is. I like using the example of Beethoven. I am looking forward to hearing Beethoven’s
100th piano concerto in heaven (he only has 95 more to write by my
best guess). There may be many other
musical composers in heaven, all of which I may thoroughly enjoy, but there is
something about the style of Beethoven I really enjoy. If Beethoven is not there with me in heaven,
heaven will be diminished. It is not
that I require Beethoven in heaven for me to want to be there, it is merely
that I would find heaven even that much better with him in it. I would love to hear his 100th
piano concerto, perhaps even learn to play it myself. That would bring me joy, as it would bring
joy to others. Beethoven is unique, he
is needed, he is able to bring joy to many simply by doing what God has seen
fit to bless him with doing. Throughout
the eons of time, there will never be another Beethoven. The same is true of you. The same is true of me. Though neither of us may ever compensate for
the loss of Beethoven if he is not with us, we may both really enjoy his company
if he is; and he us. From the
perspective of Beethoven, he may really enjoy spending eternity with you,
enjoying the contribution that you make to the congregation and body of
heaven. It may be your personal
testimony that enriches the life of Beethoven in heaven. It may be your service that brings him
comfort and joy, and inspiration, as it does for me, and for untold others as
you perform the purpose for which you alone were intended. You see, you are no less important to God, to
me, or to Beethoven than he is to us.
Each of us unique, each of us needed, each of us either adding to the
beauty of heaven, or diminishing it by our absence.
When we begin to see each other in this light, when we begin
to appreciate how unique, and how critical it is we bond together for eternity
– the divisions between us seem to melt away.
I do not care what skin color you are, what family you come from, what
education you have, what career you chose or were forced to accept – I only
care that I can show you love and help you see just how important you are to
God and to me. Your presence in heaven
defines joy to me, your absence defines misery.
I wish to see the whole of heaven benefit from the purpose only you can
fulfill. Viewed in this way, it is hard
for us to imagine “apathy” among the church body. How could we casually allow the absence among
us of any who we would so value in heaven?
How could we treat another so casually as to not care if they join us,
or feel loved, or experience joy? To
serve that very person who perhaps we have seen as “hard to love” is perhaps
the greatest joy we may encounter both in this world and the one to come. Our destiny is to find fulfillment in a
unique purpose and unique service to God.
Let us embrace this purpose today as we discover it, and recognize in
others the unique contribution they will bring, and the absolute necessity of
their company in our presence through all of eternity.
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