TRUE FAITH PREPARES FOR THE FUTURE
June 21,2022
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise” (Matthew 25:1-2). The wise carried oil with them in jars, and were ready for the bridegroom to arrive (25:4). The foolish looked for oil when it was too late (25:8), and could not enter the reception.
Believers accept what Jesus said about his return from heaven to raise the dead and judge all those who ever lived (Matthew 24:30-31; 25:31-33). And because they know the certainty of his arrival, they make preparations. They risk loss by investing his resources (Matthew 25:16) and are handsomely rewarded (25:21). For Christ’s sake they help the hungry and thirsty and make room for the stranger. As a result, in the day of judgment, they hear the Lord saying to them, “Come; you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
An experience from everyday life can illustrate this. Suppose we want to find an exciting, relaxing and secure place for an extended vacation. First, we want to learn about that community and what services that it offers, like housing, daily transportation, recreation, stores, restaurants, and the like. We want to check out the climate, terrain, and the beauty of the scenery. And we also would like to know about the rules governing the place and the people that we will meet on a daily basis.
Once we know our destination, we start preparing to get there. We work and save up money to pay for travel there. We will also prepare for the trip by getting travel documents, like a passport, and deciding what to take and what to leave.
A considerable amount of thought and time will be spent in getting ready; but this does not mean that we go about it in a hap-hazard, leisurely, lackadaisical way. There’s an urgency because there’s a definite date and time for departure.
It doesn’t always make sense when we first hear about what is needed to prepare for entrance into our eternal destiny. They are often very difficult and take a life time. It may seem that we are the only ones following the directions that heaven has outlined in the brochure. Jesus said the way to life is both narrow and difficult and the gate is small, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). The wide, paved way is comfortable and easy: it’s the way that the crowd follows. The problem is that the easy way leads to death.
The way is difficult because the way of discipleship demands self-denial and a cross of suffering for Christ’s name (Mark 8:34). Paul wrote that anyone who wants to lead a godly life for Christ will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Just to be baptized and carry the name of Christ could result in being rejected (John 15:18), even from one’s own family (Matthew 10:22). It’s the way of forgiving those who have sinned against us (Matthew 6:14; 18:21-22). never taking vengeance (Romans 12:17-19; Matthew 5:39, 44), but allowing God to repay, while we must forgive like Jesus forgave us (Colossians 3:13).
Considering the difficulty, we keep our eyes fixed on the goal: the resurrection from the dead, our union with Christ, and our home, which is the new creation. The end of the journey motivates us, and the presence of the Spirit of Christ sustains us. The destination is the resurrection from the dead when our bodies will be raised/transformed to be like the glorious body of the Lord Jesus (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54). We will see Christ as he is and be like him (*1 John 3:2). When Jesus appears, we will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:4).
We look forward to a “new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). “God’s dwelling place will be among his people. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). “Everything will be made new” (21:5). This new creation will be the City of God with the River of Life flowing from the throne of God. This river flows in the middle of the principal avenue with the Tree of Life along each side. The leaves of that tree will be for the healing of the nations for there will be no more war or oppression or exploitation. There will be no need of the sun because the glory of the Lord will be its light (Revelation 22:22-22:5).
Faith looks forward with anticipation to this world and prepares for it. At the same time faith takes seriously the warnings of the Lord Jesus and all of scripture. In a parable Jesus said that the rich man who had no pity for the beggar at his gate went to a place of torment and fire (Luke 16:23-24). He said that those who have done evil will rise from death only to be condemned (John 5:29) to a place where e “the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:48; Isaiah 66:24). Another vivid description of being eternally separated from God and suffering his displeasure is “the lake of burning sulfur” where the devil, his angels, and victims are “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). This is the place reserved for the “cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars” (Revelation 21:8).
For the person of faith, God’s promises are as real as the ground we stand on, the food that we eat, and the clothes we wear. In our mind’s eye we are already with Christ in heaven (Eph 2:5), even as we wait for his return. The words of Hebrews 12 spur us on: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (12:1-3).
