.
The
age to come
Advent
is the season
in which the
Christian
people focus
on the return
of the Messiah
and the day he
comes again in
glory. This is
the day when
the “age to
come” will
finally be
here and the
saints will
enter into
heavenly life:
“We await our
blessed hope,
the coming of
our Savior
Jesus Christ.”
(Titus 2:13)
If
we are honest,
however, that
hope at times
seems less
blessed than
we might want
to admit. I
have a friend
who, in her
honesty,
sometimes
fears that she
won't really
enjoy heavenly
life that
much. The
thought of an
eternal time
of worship
doesn't always
appeal to her.
Her
misgiving
feeds on the
notion that
the age to
come will be
like our
experience of
the
'spiritual'
things we do
in this life,
only longer.
But the age to
come will mean
not the
elimination,
but the
re-creation of
everything in
this life. It
will not be a
narrower, but
a broader,
deeper and
fuller
experience of
all the good
in the world
we now know,
with none of
the effects of
sin. We
ourselves will
be changed. (1
Corinthians
15:52)
The
world as it is
now is often
at odds with
God's
intention, and
even the good
things God
created to be
enjoyed can
entice us away
from Him. When
I'm deep in
prayer, I
usually close
my eyes
because the
things around
me are a
distraction.
God's
glorious
presence
magnified
In
the age to
come, what we
see and hear
won't distract
us from God's
glorious
presence.
Rather, they
will magnify
it.
Isaiah
describes that
day in one of
the Sunday
Advent
readings:
The
wilderness and
the dry land
shall be glad,
the
desert Shall
rejoice and
blossom;
like
the
crocus
it shall
blossom
abundantly,
and
rejoice with
joy and
singing....
They
shall see the
glory of the
LORD, the
majesty of our
God.
(Isaiah
35:1-3)
Everything
blooms;
everything
explodes with
life in
Isaiah's
vision. The
dusty, hostile
desert gives
way to running
streams and
bubbling
springs.
Flowers spring
up in the
desert. Nature
itself sings.
Everywhere the
world is alive
with God's
glory, and
testifies to
his majesty.
In
The Great
Divorce,
C.S. Lewis
depicts a
cosmic bus
ride from a
dismal, grey
hell to heaven
exploding with
color. When
the passengers
alight, what
they find is a
more colorful,
more
substantial
earth. The
light at first
is nearly
blinding. The
blades of
grass are like
needles to
their tender
feet. The
guide who
conducts the travelers
on a tour of
the new
creation
explains that
heaven is
brighter,
firmer, more
solid, because
it is more
what is meant
to be than
what we know
now. To fit
in, the
pilgrims in
Lewis’ tale
need to become
people they
were meant to
be. Those who
choose to
remain in the
heavenly land
must go
through a
period of
adjustment,
shucking off
what is weak
and deformed,
in order to
put on what is
noble and
strong. They
become royal
and dignified
because they
are meant not
only to live
in the new
world, but to
reign there.
(Revelations
22:5)
The
adjustment
Lewis
imaginatively
describes
mirrors the
training that
is meant to be
accomplished
in this life,
according to
Paul. As he
reflects on
his own
hardships,
Paul says,
"this slight,
momentary
affliction is
preparing us
to carry a
weight of
glory beyond
all
comparison.
(2Corinthians
4:17) "The
Hebrew word
for "glory'
means
"weightiness."
Though 2
Corinthians is
written in
Greek, the
rabbi Paul
probably has
that Hebrew
metaphor in
mind. This
life –
especially its
difficulties,
persecutions
and
temptations -
- is preparing
us to carry a
heavy load of
solid,
heavenly
glory, the
burden, you
might say, of
kings and
queens.
A
life of
training for
glory
Through
his Holy
Spirit, God is
training our
hearts,
teaching us to
turn aside
from our
sinful
passions and
our irreverent
attitudes, to
learn to live
our lives by
the truth, and
to imitate
God's own
character.
(Titus
2:11-14) Like
weight
training, or
physical
therapy, the
discipline can
be painful at
times, and we
wonder if it's
worth
it.
That's
why Paul says
the life of
training for
glory is one
in which 'we
look not to
the things
that are seen
but to the
things that
are unseen;
for the things
that are seen
are transient,
but the things
that are
unseen are
eternal.” (2
Corinthians
4:18) What
Paul means by
'unseen' is
not
permanently
invisible, but
not yet
visible.
Deferred
gratification
is part of
Christian
hope.
But
gratification
there will be
in abundance.
And it won't
be poorer, but
richer than
the pleasures
of this life.
At the end of
the day, we'll
need new
bodies just to
cope with it.
We'll need new
equipment to
handle
heaven's
higher
voltage.
(Romans
8:22-23) We
find some
things in life
a struggle
just because
we get tired,
or sick, or
hungry. Even
when our
hearts are
right, our
bodies don’t
always
cooperate.
Our bodily
weaknesses
came together
with the
spiritual
corruption of
sin. Some day
that will all
be behind us.
In
the meantime,
we look to the
things we
don't yet see;
to the day
when what is
mortal will be
swallowed up
in life; when
the lame will
leap with joy;
when the dumb
will shout
aloud; when
the deaf will
hear the music
of heaven;
when the blind
will open
their eyes and
see -along
with all of us
--the glory of
the Lord, the
majesty of our
God.
This article was originally published in True
North Magazine,
a publication
of the Ligaya
ng Paginoon
Community
in Manila,
Philippines.
Used with
permission.
John
Yocum is an
elder of The
Servants of
the Word, a
lay missionary
brotherhood of
men living
single for the
Lord. He works
with Sword of
the Spirit
communities
in North
America
and serves on
the executive
committee of
the
international
teaching team
for the Sword
of The Spirit.
John has a
Doctorate in
Theology from
The University
of Oxford. He
has taught
Theology at
Oxford, at
Loyola School
of Theology in
Manila and
currently
teaches at Sacred
Heart Major Seminary
in Detroit,
Michigan, USA.
He currently
lives in
Lansing,
Michigan.
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