| From
the Church on the Hill
by D. Eric Williams Pastor, Cottonwood Community Church pastor@cottonwoodcommunitychurch.org I recently officiated a funeral in Lewiston and was once again reminded of the brevity of life. Because life is short it befits us to concentrate on the important things during the fleeting time we have on this earth. Part of the ‘Order For The Burial Of The Dead’ as found in the Book Of Common Prayer says, We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. These words are drawn from 1 Timothy 6:7 and Job 1:21. They remind us that earthly wealth is of no value in eternity and that any material blessing we do receive in this life is a gracious gift from God. These are biblical sentiments any Christian should agree with. However, far too many of us deny these truths in the way we live. Since we can take no material thing with us when we leave this life it makes sense for us to focus on the things we can take with us into eternity. Those things are limited to the personal relationships we have in this realm and our own character. When we talk about eternal personal relationships we refer to the connections we have with Jesus Christ and with fellow Christians. Obviously nothing can match the personal bond we have with our Lord Jesus. He is our master, savior and friend. He is the one who died for our sins. He is the one who brings us into relationship with the Father. He is the one who redeemed us and gave us everlasting life. Our kinship to Christ has no rival. Nevertheless, the familial association we enjoy with brothers and sisters in Christ is important as well. Contrary to the tenants of American Folk Religion (a false religion that has infiltrated much of the Church) eternity is a place of productive living. In other words, it is not a place characterized by meaningless existence, floating around in an ethereal haze. In fact, eternity is like this realm - onlybetter. As Paul says, for we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). So, Paul compares the body we have in this sphere to a tent and the body we have in eternity to a house – something much more substantial. Indeed, he says that in eternity, what we currently consider “life” is swallowed up by life. In other words, this life is not “swallowed up” by something foreign and unfamiliar but by something even more real (on the same continuum) as this life. As N. T. Wright says, this physical life is swallowed up by a life more physical than the one we now enjoy: we are speaking of physicality on a dimension we cannot imagine. Do you doubt that? Consider the physicality of the risen Jesus. He could disappear, travel great distances with ease, pass through solid walls and mask his appearance. Yet he had flesh and bones and ate food (Luke 24:39-43). We will revisit this topic next week. |
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