“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
(Hebrews 11:16)
Everyone it seems has an awareness of two distinct worlds. There is the world as it is, and then there is the world as it ought to be. All of us, no matter what our backgrounds or upbringings, see a reason to work toward making the world what it ought to be. This universal and unshakable moral sense demands explanation. On the atheistic conception of reality, the world we live in is, at bottom, random, accidental and meaningless. Clearly, this view of the world makes nonsense of our moral intuitions. The same tension exists within any instantiation of the non-Christian worldview. What is needed is a competent, Personal moral Authority, qualitatively greater than all of us, Whose character sets the standard of what is objectively good and right. This Personal Authority must reveal moral truth to us, expressing His desires for our lives by way of divine commands. Only this view of reality makes sense of our shared moral sensibilities. This is precisely what the Bible teaches. The great God of the Bible “is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God,” wrote the psalmist, “who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!” (Psalm 113:4-6). The Personal, covenant-keeping God of the Bible is our needed Authority. He enlightens the heart and mind of man (Job 38:36); He gives man his moral awareness (Romans 2:14-15). The Scriptures explain our shared intuition that the world we live in is not the world as it ought to be. God made the world good (Genesis 1:31) but man in his sin and rebellion ruined it (Genesis 3; Romans 8:22). We praise God for His amazing, abiding grace and infinite power. The God that cannot lie has promised His redeemed that the world will not limp along as it does indefinitely. The One Who reconciled the world to God (2 Corinthians 5:19) is scheduled to return to the earth to redeem His purchased possession. Looking down the long corridor of time, past all the dispensations described in the Bible, John caught a glimpse of the eternal state, the blessed new heavens and earth prepared for those who love and trust Jesus. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven,” wrote the beloved disciple, “saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). At long last, the world will be what it ought to be. Be encouraged, saints; “these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5).
God bless you,
Pastor John
English