A Slightly Different Kind of Thought Today

 Good morning, and welcome.

 I was watching a video last night where Tim Mackie and N. T. Wright were holding a discussion in a weekend seminar that was recently held in Portland, Oregon.  Professor Wright is one of the leading theologians of our day.  Mackie is an outstanding theologian in his own right, and founder of the Bible Project, a crowd-funded effort to bring the Bible to the masses.

They were discussing a passage in John regarding the Holy Spirit.  In the midst of their comments on the passage, this snippet of conversation came out.  “The church is to be a working model of heaven on earth.”  For me, this was an “aha” moment.

I stopped the video, rewound, and listened to that portion of the conversation again.  I noted the place in the video where it was found and decided to look at it again today.  I have done so, and continue to be awed by the thought.

There are a couple of major concepts of heaven.  Without getting deep into the theological weeds of this, one of those concepts of heaven for Christians is that at the end of time, God will take all of the saved to some place in the great beyond…heaven, if you will…and earth and all  physical things will be destroyed.  There, we will play harps, float on clouds,  exist in some kind of ether-like state, and be in that kind of place forever.

The other major concept is that God will, at the end of time, reunite heaven and earth as it originally was in the Garden of Eden.  The saved will have real bodies and live in a unified, real, actual environment where heaven and earth become one.  We will have real work to do, will know others, and enjoy the fruits of God’s grace.

I believe the story of God’s love and redemption as found in the Bible points us to the concept of a reunited heaven and earth.  Consequently, when I heard this statement:  “The church is to be a working model of heaven on earth,” I was immediately caught up in the ramifications of the idea.

So, what do I believe this should look like?  Well, I don’t claim to have experienced any miraculous visions or dreams which might give me a glimpse into the afterlife.  But it seems to me that there are two or three things we might consider as we think about the concept of the church modeling what the new heavens and new earth might be like.

First, and perhaps most importantly, the church should model unity.  In Revelation, John speaks of those he sees in his vision of the throne of God:  “I looked,” he said, “And there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

Think of it.  People from every place on earth, from every era…from every century…all together before the throne of God.  It seems to me that we need to consider how we the church…the redeemed of God…model that in the here an now.

Second, I believe that in this new heavens and new earth, we won’t be idle.  We will be given things to do…work to do…work that is pleasant and fulfilling.  Work that is commensurate with our abilities and talents.

The church can and in many ways does model this now.  Each one of us has been given some kind of talent or ability.  That well-used statement, “I can’t do everything, but I can do something,” is pertinent in this context.  We may not be able to cure cancer, bring about world peace, or ensure that everyone has enough to eat, but we can each do our part.  We can work within our sphere of influence to bring about restoration, even if it is just in one small thing.

You may be able to think of other ways that the church can model the new heavens and new earth.  These two immediately came to my mind as I thought about it.

I know this Thursday Thought has been a little different than many.  I want these posts to give you a glimpse into my mind and heart as we all continue down this road together.  So, from time to time I may wander into a little deeper subject area such as the one today.

May God bless you and keep you as together we experience His love and care.

 

Blessings.