For the last couple hours I've been looking out at "lake Scugog" here in Port Perry. I can't seem to figure out what all that brown stuff is. It's sad to see the lakes already polluted and school's not even out.
Today I read the last couple chapters of Revelation. My thought's picked up from yesterday's post...
Growing up I'd always understood that one day I'd leave this broken world to go to a perfect mansion with Jesus where I'd live forever. Now I'm wondering if that's exactly what God has in mind. Maybe that's only the frist part of the end story, maybe the rest is " after a while we return to a new and put back together earth with Jesus where we hang out eternally" I'm intrigued, not ready to drop the firm conclusion's of my roots (trying to figure out if they really are any different, or if this is all just coming together for me now). I'm ready to ask questions (and this is a big scarry step, I have this sense that asking means I'm doubting, which means I'm loosing faith, but the truth is I'm not, my faith has never been so alive, because like I was saying the other day, Jesus will never let me go, and asking deepens and broadens my faith).
I'm ready to ask God for clarity, ready to trust God for clarity, ready to know some things don't have black and white answers, but also ready to open the door to investigation to find answers.
Rev 21. The New Jerusalem drops down to it's final resting place, heaven and earth are merged yet they are "new".
An area needing clarity. Is Rob Bell saying that the passing of the "old earth" is symbolic of the passing of the old realm of authority, which was the devil's? And not that the passing of the "old earth" is literal, meaning it was actually burnt up, cleansed and made new. God has done both in the past, Destroying and making new (ie. the Flood), and the Restoration thing (ie. Salvation and Sanctification via Jesus).
2 Peter 3:10 leans towards destruction "The heavens will disappear with a roar,' the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" Good question, God's making me Holy, I'm to be a light to the world to allow God to bring people into a saving (opening) and restoring relationship with Him. How does God want me to be transformed by this information of the end times destruction?
In Bell's sermon he warned us against "having this were getting out of here mentality". But when I read this verse I can see how this mentality was developed.
Essentially will the earth we now live on be destroyed or restored or both?
In Bell's sermon he said jokinly "I'm afraid some Christian's will be on their way up while God will be on his way down" he also said "when Luke talks about one person staying and the other person being taken up, I wanna be the person that stays". I get what he's saying but personally if the earth is going to be destroyed or at least remodelled/restored I'm not sure I'd want to be here, there's just too much cement.
And then I hear the voice of God saying to me (not outloud unfortunately)
"persue me, just persue me, trust me, just trust me, it will all make sense, eventually".
I'm off to Muskoka. Living the dream...
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