HE IS RISEN!
I was reading my morning devotions the other day and came across this by C.S. Lewis –
“We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning Heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about “pie in the sky,” and of being told that we are trying to “escape” from the duty of making a happy world here and now…But either there is “pie in the sky” or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or not. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. There are rewards that do not sully motives. A man’s love for poetry is not mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. Love, by definition, seeks to enjoy its object. (The Problem of Pain)
This is similar to what Paul said in I Corinthians 15 – “If we have only hoped in Christ for this life, we are most to be pitied.” What he meant by that was that we believe that there is more than just what this world offers. Yes, there are good things here; but there is a deeper reality that helps us to prioritize what is truly important.
What does hoping in heaven give us? It gives us a strength to endure unjust and unwarranted criticism and persecution, knowing that whether we get our own way in this world is not the most important thing. We should never use our hope in heaven as a way to avoid working for peace and justice. It is because we believe in heaven that we WANT peace and justice for everyone!
I pray that our Lord will give you a glimpse of heaven today, and that He would use you to give a glimpse of hope to someone around you who needs it.
– Rev. Bill