THE RELATIONSHIP OF HEAVEN

Joshua 16:1-18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11

“But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king….’ The king replied, ‘…To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

I had to research this one, friends. As many times as I have heard the parable of the talents, I had never heard a sermon on – nor did I recall reading - the verses about the destruction of the people who rejected the King. Turns out, Herod’s son went to Rome seeking a king’s commission which was rejected by Caesar when the Jews sent a delegation to protest. He returned to Judea with a vengeance. Jesus is not actually comparing Archelaus to God, but He is using a loose reference to history and implied analogy to illustrate a point. Everyone will face judgment. Those who reject Christ will have a predictable end. But Christians who neglect and fail to invest and multiply their blessings also will find themselves without them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven still will be a darn sight preferable to the alternative of Hell. Nevertheless, while underachieving believers won’t face condemnation, they still may have to deal with an eternity of regret over what could have been. The parable just doesn’t leave room for any other interpretation.

I, like most Christians, prefer to think salvation absolves us of all judgment, but it just ain’t so scripturally. The Bible is clear there will be heavenly rewards… or not. We are accountable to Christ for our sanctification. In short, the take-away seems to be that God did not save us for eternal life so we could be dead wood. He saved us to share and multiply eternal life with others. We are to build His Body and will be responsible to Him for any infirmity we cause because of our failure to invest ourselves and our blessings wisely in others.

This can be difficult to accept for Christians especially, because it sounds like it contradicts “justification by faith.” It does not. We are justified – or “saved,” in the popular vernacular – simply and exclusively through claiming Jesus as Savior and Lord. But sanctification – growing in and into grace – is a whole ‘nother thing. It helps me to look at it this way: we can be saved but not healed; justified but not whole. Sanctification is the process of God remaking us into His image, into what we were planned to be from the beginning of Creation, after we submit to His Will for our lives. That process is a partnership that depends as much on our willingness to take our “medicine” as on God’s ability to “prescribe” what will make us whole.

Let’s take the imperfect example of my own children. All three will always have a key to our house, a place to celebrate or crash, unless they choose not to (which decision I will have no practical choice but to honor). The joy of their Father, however, can never be fully realized until they get inside. At the same time, though, they may either fellowship with me, Mom, siblings and friends, or they may, or may be asked to, stay in their rooms with the doors closed. They will be secure as long as they are in the house, but they will never be completely fulfilled without present, growing relationships. (I said it was an imperfect example.)

At its essence, I believe heaven is perfect relationship, relationship with Christ, God, the Spirit, angels and other souls. It is relationship so full, complete and wonderful – so unconditional and spontaneous – that we will wonder how we ever got along without it. But it also is relationship we are called to begin practicing now. If we don’t, how can we ever expect to get better?