Heaven in Our Lives

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis observed that “all that is not eternal is eternally out of date.” Too much of our time and thought are wasted on the non-eternal. Only that which is done for our Savior’s honor and in obedience to him is eternal and therefore relevant. 

                In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul makes a set of astounding statements that challenge us to bring the eternal into the present, heaven into our lives. He says “the time is short” (v. 29). The times have been drawn together, rolled up and compressed, i.e., shortened. In the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the fact that we shall soon be with him, all must be done for Him, with Him in mind, to please Him, to honor his Word.

                He adds: “they that have wives should live as if they had none.” Paul is not endorsing loose views of marriage, spousal indifference, or giving support to the hyper-spiritualists in Corinth who were saying things like, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (7:1). Some in Corinth encouraged wives to refrain from conjugal relations as being unspiritual and supported the notion that a woman could leave an unbelieving husband. He is saying that if we are married, the eternal in Christ must influence our marriage. Marriage must be used as a help to the eternal, not a hindrance and frustration.

                Then, the Spirit adds that whether one is weeping or rejoicing, tears and laughter must not dominate the life. He says something similar about purchasing the world’s goods – we must hold loosely to them as if we did not possess them (v. 30). In fact, when we use the world’s tools and goods, they must hold no influence over our souls (v. 31). This is the emotional equivalent of a millionaire living as if he had only a dime. Money holds no hold over the affections of those who live in light of eternity.

                How can the apostle say these things? The time is short. The ages have been compressed, drawn together. Eternity is coming. It has actually dawned in Christ. Eternal concerns must shape and dominate the present. Does this please my Savior and Judge before whom I shall very soon stand? Will this work, this activity follow me into eternity and bring honor to Him and joy to my soul? What about these words or this relationship? If our lives are not dominated by the eternal, they are eternally irrelevant.

                As a Christian young man or woman, I must not socialize or exercise or entertain my life away. I must instead prepare for my calling, for my future family, for my meeting with Jesus Christ. I must live for heaven. The only relevant life is the eternity-conscious life. Are my wife and I disputing about finances or having bedroom wars? Why would we remain mired here? The time is short. How can we honor our Savior and better serve him with our future meeting with him in mind? Or, are we going to live in the shadowlands, obsessed with things that will embarrass us when we stand before Jesus Christ because we did not die to ourselves and our wants and live unto him? I will give to my spouse. I am Christ’s, and I will empty myself for Him.

                Consider how irrelevant the relevant church is. It looks around at the world and sees disinterested and sin-diseased souls. No surprise here. It should respond: let us commit our lives to speaking God’s truth and preaching his word. Let us lovingly separate from sin and show men that the new age has dawned, that the kingdom of God is not words but power. No, says the relevance seeking church. Let us alter God’s doctrine and worship. Let not the pulpit be the throne of God but more like a stage or podcast, so that no one feels the least bit uneasy. Let us not preach Scripture but address common ideas and concerns, baptizing them with a little Christian jargon, so that men feel like in a 15 minute “talk” they have the answers to life. Irrelevance. Men are never won to faith and a heavenly way of life by trying to put a band aid on our earthly, broken lives. Heaven must invade. The proclamation of coming judgment must confront the sleepy and dead. Wherever the apostles went, the message was the same: Christ’s death, resurrection, reign, and judgment. Men were awakened. The times were compressed in their own souls, and they fled to Christ for refuge (1 Thess. 1:10).

                The Christian is caught between these two realities. This earth is not his home. We are strangers and pilgrims here. This life will never be heaven. Yet, because Jesus Christ has ascended to the Father’s right hand and opens heaven to us, we may live with heaven in our hearts and lives. Heaven’s power, light, and grace may come to dominate more of our earthly concerns, so that we seek consecration to Jesus Christ everywhere.

                We see the extremes to which men and women will go to be thought relevant. The temptation to know and to be at the center of it all will damn many souls in our generation. To live this way is to say, “This life is all that matters. Let us eat, and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Nowhere is the atheism of American society more practically seen than in the feverish pursuit of being accepted, empathized with, loved, and followed. It is a hellish fire that is scorching many in the church. The sad reality is that such a life is eternally irrelevant. It does not look upon the unseen glories coming but is obsessed with shiny dust. American life is fool’s gold.

                If you want to be relevant, if the church wishes to be extremely relevant, the only standard of relevance is eternity. Will this last? Will my Savior approve of it? Does this do God’s will and obey his word, or man’s? Will these works of mine, this life of mine, these words of mine, these relationships of mine, follow me into heaven and result in a crown upon my head that I may then cast at my blessed Savior’s feet? Will he say, “Well done,” after my life review, or will I cringe? Did I abide by his truth when the world was laughing? Jesus Christ and his beautiful Bride will have the last laugh, and the joy will be eternal. Did I hold to the old paths of doctrine, worship, and practice, or did I crave the world’s acceptance? What is my obsession? Is it pleasing Christ and hearing his “Enter into the joy of your Lord?” If so, child of God, as hard as it may be to believe, you are more relevant than everything the world parades before us. You will live forever with your Jesus.

                Sadly, much of the world’s irrelevance still clings to us. The old man of sin craves this life and pushes off thoughts of eternity. Nothing less than the power of Jesus Christ can fill our hearts and lives with heaven’s hope and glory. He has the power and commission to save us, help us, and sanctify us. He will hear our cries for help, our confessions of fear, false loves, and worldly cravings. He is able to enflame our hearts with the hope of heaven. He is able to keep us relevant by keeping us centered upon heaven and our Father there. How telling that he was the most relevant person who ever lived, and yet he was completely rejected by the world! Think often of this, and live as he lived: delighting in the will of his Father, humbling himself, and learning obedience. Abide in him. To know him is eternal life begun.