During the holiday season, my roommate and I tried to read through an advent
daily devotional. One day, it talked about how the
star of Bethlehem led the wise men to Jesus. It said that theologians
argue over how a star could lead people to Jesus. All I could think was, “Really? Of all things, THAT’S
what y’all argue about?”
So, this week I pose the question: What do people talk about
in heaven?
When this life is over and we move on to the next life, I
doubt we will talk about movies, sports, or politics. What conversations go on
up there?
When we are heaven, we’ll know truths that we could never know while on earth. So, I doubt we’ll talk about whether or not the earth
is 6000 years old or whether or not Genesis 1 is a metaphor- it will no longer be up for debate! So did you waste all of your time? It may be
useful to have opinions on these kinds of questions, because non-christians may need them answered to give their lives to Christ. However, in the grand scheme of eternity, there are bigger fish to fry.
It gets out of control when we debate things the year
Galatians was written, or if Paul or Peter wrote the book of Hebrews. At least
having an opinion about the age of the earth may help you evangelize, but questions like these aren't helpful at all! I've fallen into spiritual pitfalls before, and you know what? I never answered my questions and I feel like I wasted my time!
Being a Christian is not confined to a desk an a reading lamp. If you
spent all of your time studying the bible and no time applying it, you have missed point! The bible is not a philosophy, it's a lifestyle.
I bet that, in Heaven, we’ll
talk about how God used us to change other people's lives and how he used other people to
change ours. Our conversations will be about God, not about words on a page written
with ink that fades with time. If studying the bible is keeping us from
knowing the God of the universe, then we have idolized the knowledge rather
than the truth. Like money, you can’t take the knowledge with you to heaven- no
one will care whether or not you had the best argument about the age of the
earth.
Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and
steel. (Matt. 26)” Striving for answers to answerless questions not only leads us nowhere, but it distracts us from the more important matters
(God’s grace, and his will for your life). I write this out of love, so that we can be as effective for the Lord as possible.
Now let's make this personal, do you talk about God more than you talk to God? Knowing Jesus doesn't mean memorizing the stats on his baseball card. Give him a call- he'd love to talk to you.
