He has put eternity in their hearts

Ecc 1:1-3 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?”

This is from the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon, the author of this book, was experiencing an intense crisis of purpose. As a result, this book is a dark and somber accounting of his experiences as he attempted to find meaning in the things he set his mind upon in life. (If you ever read Ecclesiastes its entirety, please understand that it has a specific context…God is teaching us through Solomon that NOTHING we do on earth for this physical life will satisfy our eternal desires.) In the above passage (and throughout the book), Solomon uses the word “Vanity” repeatedly. In his usage, he means “Absurdity, Futility or Frustration”. Solomon was having a huge issue with the meaning and purpose of existence.

I am pointing out Solomon’s struggle because I believe it shows us that Godly people can expect to encounter issues concerning the purpose of life. People of faith can find themselves struggling with the implications of existence. In fact, I have personal experience with this type of anxiety. Mine came on the front end of my spiritual journey as I struggled with the lack of meaning in my life. (Jesus rescued me from that anxiety!) Others experience this anxiety after they have spent some time living as a Christian. Either way, Jesus has the answer!

I believe that this anxiety is the result of one of two things –

· A lack understanding of our purpose in this life.

· A lack of understanding of what we can expect our purpose to be in the next life.

Note: The Bible represents a universe in which life occurs in more than only physical planes of existence. There are spiritual planes of existence and spiritual beings that operate in our physical world that we typically do not discern. We are very special in that though we exist in the physical, we are both spiritual and physical in nature. Our ability to navigate life as God intends is very dependent on our acceptance of this truth concerning existence.

A) Our purpose in this life

Eph 3:9-11 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Here, Paul is giving us information that has huge implications concerning the world in which we live, and why we are called to do the things that we do as part of His Church.

- The Church of Jesus Christ has been planned by God prior to creation

- The Church of Jesus Christ is intended to accomplish things that demonstrate the wisdom of God

- God has planned to use the Church of Jesus Christ to demonstrate His wisdom to beings beyond our physical plane of existence. (…God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places)

If being a Christian is simply about being a good person so that when we die we can forever be in this place called Heaven that is full of other good people that did the same thing, then the thought of eternity will be very daunting. In fact, that concept of life everlasting would seem so monotonous that thinking about it would be unbearable.

The good news is Heaven is NOT like that at all. Heaven is not a consolation prize for good people. The passages above indicate that Heaven will be the beginning of great things yet to come, and those of us that want to be a part of it do so by becoming part of His Church here on earth!

· Entering and Living out His purpose in Christ

Paul wrote of the same concept in Colossians, but he did so with an eye on practicality for the believer.

Col 1:9-12 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

Observe that Paul is affirming two things here…

1) It is the Father (Through Jesus) that has qualified us to be partakers of Heaven.

Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins

We go to Heaven through what Jesus did, not by what we do.

2) AS partakers of Heaven, we are called to live our lives in certain ways.

a) Seeking knowledge of His will and spiritual understanding v9-10

b) Setting out to live worthy of the Lord and pleasing Him v10

c) Engaging in good works for Him v10

d) Relying on Him to see us through difficult times v11

e) Experiencing joy as a result of this process v11

The other part of Heaven NOT being a consolation prize for good people is the fact that ONLY heavenly-minded people will find joy and fulfillment in the journey to Heaven. In other words, if you are trying to find the HOPE and JOY of a Christian in this life, but are not actively doing the things described above, you are going to find joy and fulfillment very elusive. Paul addresses this as we move further into Colossians.

Col 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Entering Christ, we must remain faithful to His cause and to the incredible purpose that we have in being part of the Church. By engaging in those purpose centered things that Paul wrote of in verses 9-12, we find ourselves grounded in Christ and steadfast in the Hope of the Gospel. When we DON’T engage in those things, we lose our grounding and also the hope of the Gospel.

For us to have peace and joy concerning our existence here and our future in Heaven, we must realize that salvation is not simply a designation; it is an enlistment in the greatest calling that has ever been conceived.

2Ti 1:9 (Jesus) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began

1) Our purpose in the next life

I once read a marvelous illustration on the existence of a Christian told from the point of view of a caterpillar. A caterpillar lives out its life seeking sustenance, taking shelter from the elements, avoiding predators as it is able; and all for the purpose of a mysterious transformation that they will one day undergo. The life of a caterpillar is all about the butterfly they will one day become, and the new existence of life as a butterfly is so different from that of the caterpillar that it would be completely incomprehensible had they had the capacity to ponder it.

I find this amazingly insightful concerning the transformation we will undergo when we die. As intelligent beings, we CAN (and should) ponder the implications of eternity…but we need to accept that our ability to comprehend eternity is about on par with the caterpillar’s ability to understand what life will be like as a butterfly. Simply stated; there are some things that we must affirm that we will never thoroughly grasp on this side of Heaven. So as I give commentary on this point, keep in mind that I will be dealing with things that we can affirm from scripture, but we may not entirely understand.

3) We will have things to do in Heaven

Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.

This section of Hebrews deals with the authority of Christ, but here we see a note of context affirming that, what Jesus Christ achieved in this world impacts the world to come! It will be a world in which Christ has all authority and we will serve Him in ways that we cannot fathom. All we can do is look for clues to the glory that will be revealed.

4) We will have responsibility in Heaven

Matthew 25 records Jesus teaching the Parable of the Talents, which is a parable about heaven. If you want to re-familiarize yourself with it, it is Matt 25:14-30. Look at this small section…

Mat 25:20-21 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

This is an example of scriptural indications of responsibilities we will have in Heaven.

5) We will be involved in Judgment in Heaven

In I Cor. 6, Paul is admonishing the Christians in Corinth for taking each other to court. Observe Paul’s line of reason.

1Co 6:1-3 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

I pause at the implications of this. For one thing, when contemplating final judgment, my mind goes to the many passages that speak of judgment being something that God does. The fact that Paul readily shows that we will have a part in the coming judgment is staggering. It is also mind boggling to think that we somehow will sit in judgment on angels!

6) We get to glimpse Glory by the Spirit of God

1 Co 2:9-10 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God

Here, Paul is quoting the Old Testament to affirm the marvelous thing God has done in giving us His Spirit. The Spirit of God that indwells us enables us to not only approach the deep questions of God, but also to have peace concerning the things that we discover.

Another passage that addresses this is one that records a very personal instruction that Jesus gave to His Apostles.

Jhn 14:25-27 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

While these promises are given specifically to the Apostles concerning their impending trial of faith, we can be sure that the Peace of Christ is connected with the indwelling Spirit of God. That is something all Christians are promised!!

Conclusion:

1 Jon 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

John affirms that questions of what we will be (and what we will be doing) have not been thoroughly answered because they have simply not been revealed. We will have to wait until Jesus returns for those answers. In the meantime, we live on trusting in Jesus.

Let’s consider Solomon again. Aside from Jesus, Solomon was the wisest man that ever walked the earth. In spite of his wisdom, Solomon struggled to cope with purpose. Solomon lacked what you and I have access to…the Holy Spirit of God. Yet, even though he lacked this, Solomon’s wisdom proffered a very relevant instruction for us today. I will end on this passage and pray that you find the peace of Christ in the purpose He has for your life!

Ecc 3:9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

In Faith Unfeigned

Rich