APOSTLES’ CREED: Life Everlasting
Our study of the Apostles’ Creed concludes with, “I believe in THE LIFE EVERLASTING.
Do you want to live forever? I guess it beats the alternative, but for many people, living forever sounds boring. After a few thousand years, wouldn’t we get tired of doing the same things over and over? It might be like kids at the end of summer vacation: “I’m bored.”
***I heard a true story of a 6-year-old telling a 3-year-old: “Don’t ride in the street.” The 3-year-old replied, “If I get hit by a car, I’ll just go to heaven and be with Jesus, like they say in Sunday School.” The worldly-wise 6-year-old replied, “You won’t be able to ride your Big Wheel there, and Jesus will just read your Sunday School paper to you all the time.”**
If we think heaven might be boring, we fail to understand God’s infinite creativity, as well as the transformation God has planned for us.
***C.S. Lewis, at the end of the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia, “The Last Battle,” describes everlasting life as continually developing: “the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them is was only the beginning of the real story…Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever in which every chapter is better than the one before.**
A better translation of what God has for us is ETERNAL LIFE. The emphasis is not on how long life will last, but on the quality of life. Eternal life will be forever, because it is not a life of continual decay, like life on earth, but a life that is continually being renewed.
WHAT WILL ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD BE LIKE?
Many people wonder what heaven will be like. Will the streets be paved with gold? Will the houses have dishwashers? Some of that gets a little silly, but we wonder.
Heaven is beyond our comprehension. 1 Corinthians 2:9 describes the glory to come as, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him.” Our minds cannot comprehend the reality of heaven, because it is beyond our experience and beyond our capacity to understand. All we really know is that it will be glorious!
When the Bible gives us a vision for eternal life, it is not as much about the place as it is about the QUALITY OF LIFE. Of course, the Bible can only speak to us in relation to our limited experience. Especially in the Old Testament, the vision of eternal life is in earthly terms.
Isaiah 65 gives us one of those descriptions. (Read Isaiah 65:17-25.)
Read Isaiah 65:17. There are new heavens and a new earth—a new kind of universe or environment, like the present universe, but different.
Will there be mountains and streams? beaches and waterfalls? trees and animals? dogs and other pets? Nicholas Berdyaev said, “All beauty in the world is either a memory of paradise [the Garden of Eden] or a prophecy of the transfigured world.” We don’t know whether there will be roses or dogs in heaven, but we can know that heaven will not be lacking in things to appreciate.
Read Isaiah 65:18-19a. Jerusalem is not a place on earth, of course; it represents the dwelling place of the people of God. In Jerusalem, God’s people will be “glad and rejoice forever.”
***Barbara Walters, in her special on heaven, said, “Heaven is a place where you are happy. All of the religions have that in common.” Actually, they don’t. In many Eastern religions, the goal is to lose the desire for happiness, and ultimately lose personal identity.**
There will be joy in heaven. God says, “I will rejoice…and take delight in my people.” The smile of God is the greatest joy for a Christian! And…if God will delight in his people, imagine our delight in the people who will be there with us! Our loved ones will be there, along with many others whom we will love and enjoy just as much!
Read Isaiah 65:19b-20. There will be no more sickness, suffering, or death. No more pain, no more getting old and frail, no losing our memory and abilities. Revelation 21:4 promises, “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Read Isaiah 65:21-23. Life will be fair! (It isn’t always fair in this world.) It will be more than fair; God will bless his people beyond what they deserve.
Read Isaiah 65:24. We will have an intimate relationship with God. We will no longer have times when God seems far away. We won’t even have to pray, and God will answer; we will be that close.
Read Isaiah 65:25. This is the vision of the “peaceable kingdom.” (Preacher: find a picture to project.) Will there be animals in heaven? Maybe more than on earth! Yet on earth, animals (and people) do not always get along. As Alfred Lord Tennyson said, “Nature is red in tooth and claw.” In heaven, none of that will be necessary.
We can only imagine that quality of life, because we don’t see it on earth. Is it all in the future? Can we begin to taste some of it now?
WHEN DOES ETERNAL LIFE BEGIN?
Jesus said in John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me HAS ETERNAL LIFE and will not be judged, but HAS CROSSED OVER from death to life.” Jesus brought a new quality of LIFE into the world, and he invited his disciples to begin to live as he lived.
Eternal life begins now! We can begin to experience the life Isaiah 65 described, and the life Jesus lived.
• We can have a close relationship with God. It might not be, “Before they call I will answer,” but we can pray, and God will answer. We can delight in worship, discover the heart of God through his word, and see him act.
• We can make our relationships right. ***Stephen, age 8, Chicago: “Dear pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there.”** We don’t get to choose who will be with us in heaven! Now is the time to forgive, and make things right. Now is the time to reconcile, if you can. Now is the time to affirm others, and taste the joy of love. Now is the time to include others in your circle of friends, because they might be with you in heaven.
• We can have substantial healing of the pain of the past, of bad habits and self-destructive behavior, and self-centered anxiety. We can practice healthy living in our bodies, minds and emotions.
• We can embrace what is right and good. In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul looks forward to the fullness of eternal life, saying, “Now there is in store for me the CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” It is strange that some people want to go to heaven, but don’t want to live righteous lives now. Heaven is “the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13)
• We can delight in the beauty of the earth, human beings, and ourselves. Instead of merely using things and people, we can appreciate their God-given value.
• We can see peace and justice, in the world, at work, and in our families. God’s plan for eternal life includes those who are poor, weak, powerless, and struggling.
Eternal life begins now. In fact, if we don’t begin now, it will be too late after death.
HOW DO WE RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE?
Eternal life is a gift. 1 John 5:11-12 says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
The gift of eternal life comes through Jesus. Jesus said in John 6:40, “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
If you are not sure about whether you will have eternal life with God, you can begin that life today! If you accept Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Father will give you eternal life. Your eternal life will begin today!
Of course, if eternal life begins for you today, it might bring changes to your life. That is what you want, isn’t it? The life of Jesus will take over, changing how you think, feel, and act. You won’t have to do that entirely on your own; the Spirit of Jesus will transform you, as you turn your life over to Jesus.
If you are a Christian, you have eternal life, and you want more of it. Paul encourages Timothy 1 Timothy 6:11-12, But you, man of God, flee from [sin], and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Take hold. We want a life of righteousness, godliness, and love.
We don’t have to do it on our own, however. Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Isn’t that great?
I believe in eternal life, that begins now, and reaches its fullness in eternity. Praise God!
