An Eternity Without Jesus Is No Eternity At All!
I was chatting with a new friend at a local event a few weeks ago and when he heard that I’m a person of faith, he shared that he finds the idea of “eternal life” challenging. The unspoken sentiment seemed to be that, since life is so hard, why would one want it to go on eternally?
By contrast, when I was a teenager, I used to hear the older generation in church longing for heaven. These people were “ancient” to my teenage eyes, had lived full lives. I was often left feeling like there must be something wrong with me because I didn’t share their longing. I had my whole life ahead of me with far too much still left to do to relish the thought of hanging around on clouds all day or, worse, an eternity of church services!
When it comes to conversations around eternity and “the age to come”, there is a lot of uncertainty, a lot that is unknown, and a lot that is often poorly taught. For example, our final destination is not heaven. Yes, there is that period of timelessness between the end of our current reality here on earth and when Jesus returns which, we assume, will be spent in heaven or paradise or some other reality that isn’t planet earth, but that’s not forever. The bible tells us that there will be a new heaven and a new earth and it’s on that new earth that we’ll spend eternity with God.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21: 1- 4
It’s hard for us to imagine or anticipate “the age to come”, whatever it will look like, because as physical beings, our focus tends to be on the things around us, the concrete stuff that we can touch and taste and see and hear - but this life is not all there is.
Paul invites us to “fix our eyes .. on what is unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18) because that’s where Jesus is. (Colossians 3:1) You are a bi-locational being, seated with Christ and residing at your home address, in the world but not of the world. That’s why Paul describes us as ambassadors for God’s Kingdom:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
What do ambassadors do? They live in a foreign land and work to establish a little bit of their home nation, the laws and the customs, in the land in which they find themselves living. Go on vacation abroad and visit your “home” embassy and it’s going to feel very familiar to you. You’ll even find yourself protected in your home embassy with rights and privileges that you can’t anticipate elsewhere in the foreign country.
When Jesus walked the earth, he established his Kingdom, one that would never end, fulfilling the ancient prophecies of both Isaiah and Daniel.
“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” Mark 1:14+15
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” — Isaiah 9:6+7
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” — Daniel 2:44
Jesus told us the Kingdom is here and as ambassadors, we’re called to walk out the fullest expression of that until it is fully and finally revealed upon Jesus’s return. And that’s why an eternity without Jesus is no eternity at all. It simply cannot happen!
On that day, “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow” but until then, how are we to live?
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God … Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” — Ephesians 5:1+2, 8a-10a, 15-21
Sounds like quite an ask but remember that none of this is to be done by the strength of your will. You’re not being asked to try really hard. All of it is “God-helping you” (Romans 12:1) and in so doing, your life will be woven into God’s vast and beautiful love story and you’ll invite the people around you into the love story too.
And so now it’s over to you. There’s been quite a lot to unpack in this one and I’ve thrown lots of bible references at you. I’d encourage you to explore it again with your bible in hand, asking the Holy Spirit to bring to mind His personal invitation for you in all that I’ve shared today.
Journal prompt: What does it look like for me to live as your ambassador today Jesus?
#eternity #witness #walkwithGod #heaven #devotion