The City Of The Future

For the past week plus I've been on the road and unable to find the time to post another blog. I face yet another week of traveling before settling back in my familiar haunts. All this reminds me that life itself is a journey. That is exactly what the Bible says as well.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. —Hebrews 13:12-15

The sacred writer reminds us that Jesus was rejected by the religious and political establishment of His day. He was murdered through the manipulation of power and greed. And all this was so that He might make us holy in the sight of God. Therefore, we are motivated to follow Him. Step away from the pettiness and emptiness of this world and focus on that to come. "We have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."

This is not to say that we are to reject this wondrous creation. What the writer speaks about is a city. Wikipedia defines a city in this fashion:

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law. 

Most of us live or are directly linked to the cities of this world. We travel between them, do our business in them and often find our recreation there. The temptation we face is to assume that this is where we live. But the writer reminds us that we have and can have no permanent cities. They and the humans who inhabit them are under the judgment of a righteous God. The Apostle Paul puts it this way,

. . . we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.      —2 Corinthians 4:18

I live in the suburbs of one of the world's great cities, Houston, Texas. I've lived here for over four decades. Many things have changed during that time. Many things are transient. We've suffered through three hurricanes, numerous floods and tornadoes. We've seen many accidents, much crime and suffering. The economics have changed. Whatever Houston stands for around the world—NASA, big Oil, transportation, etc. —is also changing. It's all transient.

What's permanent? The city to come. And so I'll pack up my belongings, bundle us into our car and move on. Lots of travel ahead of us in the next week. And then one day, I'll simply leave it all behind, even this old body and move ahead to the city to come. Hope to see you there.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Rev. 21:1-5

 

Quarrels and My Christian Family

One of the things I learned in my years of pastoral ministry was that quarrels among the people of God are inevitable. The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in the very first chapter of his letter to the Corinthians in this manner:

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas; still another, "I follow Christ."

"Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (vv. 10-17).

At the same time I found many wonderful and close brothers and sisters in God's family. It has been over fifty years since I first began to serve as a public minister of God's Word. I still receive emails and other correspondence from some of the people I served in those early years. Sylvia and I go back to the congregations we served and are immediately received warmly and with great affection. This is one of the reasons I claim to be among the wealthiest of men. My wealth consists of the love and affection I have received and long to share with those, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

The point is that we who are baptized into Christ become family. Our ties transcend any differences we may have because of culture, race or status. What we have in common is the cross of Christ, that power of God to rescue and save us from our own very human weaknesses and failings. In receiving that free and undeserved grace and mercy, we find a unity unknown in any other area of human life.

There are folks with whom I have great conversations about intellectual matters. We talk about history, science and the natural world at great length. I really enjoy those conversations. But this or that person I have in mind is not my brother.

There are people who help me to manage my money. We talk about the best way to invest, the future of the stock market and our mutual distrust of the IRS. We moan and groan about political matters and decisions by congress. Some of these people are and some of these people are not my brothers.

I attend conferences that discuss writing. I attend conferences that offer insights into social problems and solutions to psychological problems. I learn from the presenters, but I know that many of them are not my brothers and sisters.

There are members of my extended family who send me Christmas cards and with whom we share gifts and even hugs and kisses, but some of them are not my brothers and sisters.

You see what I say? Being baptized into Jesus Christ changes everything. In Him we find our unity, not in intellectual pursuits, social status or political leanings, not even in our family. In Christ we are bound together in a spiritual unity, both in this life and for all eternity. What an awesome revelation. What a wondrous reality.

I like the motto adopted recently by the little congregation Sylvia and I attend. It helps me to think about this matter: "Living Today for Eternity."