Heaven

In every human culture and religion there is embedded the idea of eternal life. In the deepest longing of our souls is the hope that we will see our loved ones again and that death is not the end.

In this we see the continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit to humanity. Even when we don’t know the name of Jesus, or the love his Father has for us in him, we look for and hope for an everlasting life in healthy communion and right relationship.

That longing is the Spirit bearing witness to our souls of the truth that the Son is sharing with humanity the everlasting life that he has with the Father and the Spirit. Our hope of heaven comes from the reality that we are already seated in heaven in Christ (Eph. 2:6.)

The neo-reformation is our rediscovery of what many ancient missionaries knew: God has placed eternity (i.e. the eternal Word) in our hearts (i.e. in the flesh) and that common human experience is an entry way to speak to people about who we all already are in Christ.

Instead of looking at various people’s beliefs about the after-life  and saying “oh, too bad they haven’t accepted Christ,” we need to be saying “ah! I see a schoolmaster to help them see the truth about who they are in Christ.”