Second Sunday in Lent

You just sang this line, “Earth has no joy for which I care.” That is a bold statement! To say Earth has no joy means either one of two things – either you are totally depressed about life or you have a hope in something better. My prayer for us today is that we will have a hope in something better than this life and that this hope will transform our daily lives.

Take a fish out of the water and place it on dry land. What will happen? The fish will begin to struggle for its life. Do you think giving it all the “miracles of modern medicine” will help? What if we gave it all the cash it could ever want to spend as it pleased? What about bringing all the technology and pleasures of life to help it forget its struggle? Do you think any of these things will help? No! Only by placing the fish back in the water, its true home, can the fish truly be helped.

We are the fish out of water because heaven is our home. And knowing that we are not at home yet, that our true home is waiting for us, can help us put our lives into perspective.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” (Philippians 3:20-4:1, ESV)[1]

Let us explore ways that this concept – heaven is our home – can shape and transform our daily lives.

Seeing Jesus Face to Face:

Fist we need to see heaven in its proper perspective. When we think of heaven we think of a place, maybe pearly gates, gold streets, lots of white and angels flying around. There are some images of heaven in the Scriptures but mostly heaven is talked about in terms of God – namely being with God. And that is the joy of heaven, seeing Jesus face to face.

In our home we have a picture that I think illustrates this vividly. It is a picture that is primarily blue with subtle clouds. In the background a cross is shaped out of the light. In the foreground is a person being hugged by an emotional Jesus. That is the image of heaven - Jesus holding on to us, hugging us, because He loves and cares for us! That is what we long for, to be loved by God and what a joy to know that some day we will see Him face to face. Maybe you have a fear of God as this great judge and ruler that no one can approach. Because of sin we fear God. But the Father has shown His great love for us by sending Jesus Christ to be our Savior. We need not be afraid but overjoyed that the One True God of the Universe is waiting to give us a hug in heaven because He loves us.

The Beautiful Letdown:

The next idea I would like for us to think about is one I have borrowed from a Christian Rock Band, Switchfoot. The title of their latest album and hit song is called, “The Beautiful Letdown.” At first this title seems wrong. How can a letdown be beautiful? The concept here is that it is OK to be dissatisfied with life here on Earth. Yes, the troubles, pain, suffering, grief, and adversity you face in this life are on one level a good thing. Why? Because it creates in us dissatisfaction with this life and a longing for something better, something this world cannot fulfill. This longing can only be fulfilled in Christ and can only be fully met when we are at home in heaven. So it is all right to think that this life stinks – because it does. This is not our home, heaven is.

But often we have to go through the trouble, try out the other options and see what the world doesn’t have to offer before we come to a point of realizing that our desires and needs can only be met in Jesus. Let me illustrate what I mean.

My children are drawn to what I believe is an insidious game that only seeks to cause heartache. If you have children you probably have encountered one of these machines. It is one in which you put in your change, move a metal claw around with a useless joystick and drop the claw to grab one of many prizes below. The “evil” side of this game is that most of the time you never get a prize. My children want to play this game all the time. The beg for fifty cents to play and I groan knowing what the outcome will be – crying children who want more change to get the prize they long for.

For a long time I tried in vain to steer my children away from this game. “Lead us not into temptation,” right? But I still had angry, crying children to deal with thinking I was the “evil” dad who doesn’t want good for my children. Finally I give in and the result I had expected happened – they place their coins in the machine, move the claw to their desired prize and the claw misses it and I am out fifty cents. They cry and want to play again and again. But something else happened that opened my eyes; they eventually didn’t want to play the game anymore. The lack of a satisfactory result taught them that this game was not something to be played – it didn’t fulfill their desire to get a prize.

And isn’t this our life. We often have to go after false hopes and promises in this life to realize that only one thing is needed – Jesus. Failing over and over again, feeling the pain and grief of this life can create in us a longing for something better, our true home – heaven.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18, ESV)[2]

Begin with the End in Mind:

Being with Jesus face-to-face and realizing that nothing in this life will satisfy like our true home – heaven. So how do we put this all together for our daily lives? I would like to borrow another phrase from the popular book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (1989) – Begin with the End in Mind. Covey uses this habit to show the importance of knowing the “end” the goal the vision of the task before you begin. By knowing what you want as a result it helps you better plan out everything else.

Do you want a plan and purpose for your life – begin with the end in mind. The “end” is Jesus coming to take us to our true home – heaven. Begin each day, each moment with this in mind. Jesus is coming to take you to a place He has prepared for you, a place to satisfy all our longings and desires, a place that is truly your home. Don’t you think having this in mind it can better help your daily life? It puts all our struggles in perspective. It drives us to proclaim Christ – because He is the only true answer to our longings. And it gives us a hope and reason to “run the race” of this life. Our present life is but a stepping-stone to eternity. I am not trivializing this life – it is important for us to dedicate our lives to the Lord’s service in this life. But we need to keep it all in perspective – a better place awaits us. This is a transitional world that will pass away in God’s divine timing and will.

See heaven as a place where we will be with Jesus. It is ok to be discouraged with this life because something better is coming. And begin each day with the end, eternal life, in mind. This concept, this belief of ours revealed in Scripture can transform our lives. We are travelers in this world moving toward home. We are fish out of water, longing to be in our true home. And we are driven to help others see that God wants something better for them than this broken, sinful world. Heaven is our home. There is joy in the journey when we know the destination – eternity with Jesus.

Amen

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[1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[2] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.