“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” — John 17:16
As Christians, this world we find ourselves in today is not meant to be our home. God wants His children to see Heaven as the dream retirement location, not Florida. Heaven is meant to be the desired end of the line, not this earth.
Now don’t get me wrong, God, in His grace, has blessed us here on earth in so many different ways, with family, friends, nature, happiness, medicine, limbs, ice cream, and the list goes on and on.
While we should be thankful for these gracious blessings, we can’t allow these gifts to make us become completely content with this world, where friends and family die, where nature decays, where happiness passes, where medicine sometimes fails, where limbs can disappear, and where ice cream melts.
Christians on this earth, while living thankful lives, should (and amazingly through Christ can) still desire something more, a place where life is eternal, where we are whole, and where sin has no power, to sum things up, where.. everything is perfect.
And as believers know, that perfect place is Heaven, where Jesus is. Why settle for a motel when you’ve been given the keys to a castle?
Now, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies was released in US theaters last month. I’m a huge Middle Earth fan and so of course I’d been fired up to see this movie for a long time.
And I found myself “joking” that I hoped I wouldn’t die or that Jesus wouldn’t come back until I see that film.
This “joking” left me surprised with myself. Have I fallen so much in love with this world that I’d rather be in it, than in Heaven… in the presence of Christ?
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” — Romans 12:2
Have Christians become so conformed to this world that they see it as more appealing than a perfect eternity with Christ? This view is the exact opposite of the “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The greatest blessing God has given us here on earth is His Son, and because of Jesus we look forward to something incomparably greater than this earth. I’m through settling for the rags of this world when my Savior offers me fine cloth.
What about you?
Share Your Thoughts in the Comment Section!
There are currently 8 Comment(s)
There are currently 8 Comment(s)
Good thoughts, it’s easy to get attached to this world, especially with ice cream and Middle Earth 🙂 Off topic, how did you like the new movie?
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world… If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on the that other country and to help others do the same.” ~C.S. Lewis
And there is pretty much nothing I can add to that. 🙂 Wonderful post, Keith!
Oh, and I literally just discovered a marvellous song all about our ‘true country!’ You’ve GOT to check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19RghmEGw8E
I struggle with the exact same thing, as I’m sure many of us do. It is sooooo difficult to keep our eyes on God while being bombarded with constant reminders of the latest this, or the best that, all claiming to make us happier. I know that they won’t, that it will only last a few days or weeks at most, yet I still forget to go to God instead. Lately this has been one of the things I have been praying for the most: that God would make himself and his kingdom the focus of my life.
“To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “Our citizenship is in heaven.” “We are ambassadors for Christ.” Every fiber of scripture points to the bigger picture: the kingdom of heaven. It’s also important to remember that Heaven is not for us, it is for God. Even so, what an incredible life we have to look forward to! An eternal life with our Creator and Savior! It’s truly amazing. Thank you for this reminder!
I thoroughly enjoyed this post!
In the words of the Psalmist:
“Whom have I in heaven, but You? And there is none upon earth I desire besides You.” >>Psalm 73:25
I want those words of life to echo & ring true throughout my life.
I know, right? So relateable with ice cream AND Middle Earth 🙂
Thanks for this article, Keith. It’s easy to focus on this earth because we know what to expect and we don’t know hardly anything about heaven. Also, when we do think about heaven, we tend to think of the things we’ll enjoy: the sinlessness, the end of pain, and all that good stuff… We can forget that the best thing about heaven is that Jesus is there. Also, I thought it was great that you mentioned medicine in your list of all the nice things we enjoy on earth since we won’t need medicine in heaven,
Oops! Here I am talking about the greatness of not needing medicine in heaven instead of the greatness of Jesus being in heaven. #hypocriticalheaventalk
AMEN!!!!
I just happened to be listening to Building 19’s “Where I Belong.” Great song that ties in perfectly to this post!
Awesome post! This is a great reminder! I’ve done the same thing…sort of jokingly praying that “Jesus wouldn’t come back before___.” But when I
look at the big picture, heaven is SO amazing. It’s an encouragement when I think, “I wish I had enough money to go to Hawaii. Or Europe. Or Egypt. Or the Bahamas.” Oh wait, won’t heaven be awesome? In pure paradise and in the presence of my creator and savior?!?
Good though provoking post. I believe that the lines that have defined us from the world are so blurred there are very few people that look peculiar for their faith. I don’t mean weird, exclusive, self-righteous, judgmental faith. I mean the type that causes people to wonder why we are so disconnected to anything in this world yet maintain love and grace to the lost. I determined long ago that in my life that I would remove myself from anything that might cause another to stumble. That meant avoiding anything that might cause someone to question my faith and pursuit of righteousness. Unlike most or all of you, as a young person, I experienced the world and got sucked in very easily by my earthly desires. Maybe that is why I am so determined to not get in anybody’s way to salvation. God gives us the strength to do that. The lost are looking for real Christians, but when they see them in every area of activity and events that they attend I believe it hurts the cause for Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
We are living in a church age where the activities that are being participated in by “Christians” falls in with the misuse of God’s freedom. As Christians, we are commanded to come out of the world and have nothing to do with any hint of the world. For that reason, it might be good for all of us to evaluate our choices of entertainment and secular activities. I always ask myself and others if I go to an activity or event would I walk in and see Jesus there enjoying that activity. We are called to be like Him in all ways. Separation from the world should make us joyful and peaceful. Many need to try it to up their standards in their witness.
That’s… embarrassing 😛 Fixed it.
Yes yes yes YES. This world is not our home. That is basically the one of the messages of the movie The War Within – TheWarWithinMovie.com
It really made me cry……
Thank you Kate for this article, I will keep repeating those words.
This world is not our home
This world is not our home
This world is not our home….
God Bless,
Liam S.
Sometimes I think, “I hope to make a difference before I die or am taken up into Heaven.” I do want to make a difference in the world, but I don’t want it to make me think that will be the best I’ll get. I hope it’s not. The thing is, as human beings, we only see the now and physical. God sees everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. He knows what’s best, but He wants us to wait and see, then look back and see His glory and power.
“Take this world and give me Jesus…
All I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong…”
I was just listening to this song from Newsboys in the car only 2 mins before I came inside and read this post.
Your article is such a good reminder of God’s ultimate plan for us, Thankyou for the reminder of not only our future hope but our present calling to walk with Jesus in fellowship here and now.
You know sometimes God reminds me, through the struggles we face, that we are just passing through this world. But I have to also be careful not to “wish” it away too soon. I look forward to Heaven and being with Jesus, but I also need to be content with God’s timing with my challenging circumstances, I want to see things fixed NOW, but God is using the process to bring others into His Kingdom and I wouldn’t want them to miss out because I was impatient. What a tricky balance of wait, trust, and hope.
Yeah what @liv737johnoxide:disqus said. 🙂
“If home’s where the heart is, then I’m out of place…” That was the line that hit me right between the eyes the other day, and now here’s this article. Awesome, Keith! (Are you new? I don’t remember your name, but I’m pretty new myself.)
What was it originally?
That is so interesting that you mentioned Tolkien! He is the topic of a research project I am doing and I’ve learned about his faith and how he knew the world will never be what we want it to be, like the good old days, or in our case, sometime before we were born.
The portrayal of heaven in The Lord of The Rings movies, I haven’t gotten to that part in the book yet, brought me to tears and I don’t cry during movies! Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo and the Elves knew they were meant to be home and were at peace with it, because their time had come.
That got me thinking, and knowing I’m not scared to die because Heaven is a million times better than I can imagine and the best Earth can offer! Also the end of Pilgrim’s Progress is really awesome to look at, I saw illustrations of it and its just a reminder that death isn’t the end, just the beginning of eternity.
Matthew 6:20 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We can’t take any of the world with us when we go, but we can honor God and serve him on this Earth before we go.
Thanks for this post!
Spot on article!
“The fact that our hearts yearn for things this world can’t provide is proof that heaven must be our home.”
C.S. Lewis
Thanks… I am not new to the Rebelution but this is the first article of mine that has been posted on here.
It would of been the best of the three Hobbits (in my opinion) but Peter Jackson did two thing that had never been done before in the Middle Earth films…..
1. He showed unarmed people being killed. In every other Middle Earth film (and I have watched the LOTR trilogy many times… the Hobbits not so much) you never see this. Whenever you see fighting and killing takeing place it’s always with those that are armed.
2. They threw in a very derogatory word that was completely unnecessary.
I always respected Peter for not crossing these lines, so it was sad to see.
In short, read the book lol.
Wh
Whatever happened to following the book? 🙂
Hey Keith! Great article. I’m also a huge Middle-earth fan, and I felt the same while waiting for The Desolation of Smaug. I dove way too far into the whole “fandom” thing, and it took a youth group starting up at my church for me to realize that there was so much more than dying for movies to come out in life. It’s a little sad to me that I’m not as into LOTR and all that good stuff as I used to be, but I’m also a bit relieved. God should be our top priority, even above great movies and books with Christian morals. 😛 Thanks for sharing this awesome reminder!
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” >>Matthew 6:33
Same here.
My family and I just discovered this music. It’s pretty awesome!
Great debut!
I know right!!
I think this issue is something that everyone struggles with at one point or another. In this modern day and age we are brought up to believe that we can satisfy ourselves with material possessions. We need to be careful not to fall into this trap. Thanks for the article.
Sorry for taking up so much space with my large reply!! I just realized that was probably a problem.
No problem, people do it all the time!
I noticed The Hobbit was mentioned in this post so I wanted to mention something.
Y’all might want to read this article: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract11.html
It was extremely eye opening for me. I was so blinded…I loved The Hobbit too until I realized there was something deeper, darker, and hidden about it. During the scene when Lady Galadriel was confronting the evil in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I was squirming in my seat. I tried to shrug it off and didn’t want to make a big deal about it to anyone….I certainly didn’t want to look dumb or people to think I couldn’t handle watching it, so I ignored my conscience as well as my gut feeling.
Now as time has gone on, I have seen it greatly harm a person I’m close to by the book/movie material introducing them how to do witchcraft. They even tried the things from the LOTR and Hobbit movies and the results were NOT good at all. This was before the person got saved…but it allowed Satan a doorway and led to an intense fight over this person’s salvation beforehand. They were on the verge of something very horrible (Satanism actually)…but God intervened. The spiritual world is very real and to dabble with any sort of evil can cause deadly results. I know from personal experience this article must be true!!
I DO NOT mean to step on any toes by sharing it, but I thought it was the right thing to do..please be open. I was hesitant to post this for fear of upsetting people but after seeing how devastating the effects can be on a person’s life, I knew I HAD to!