In science the dominating biological concept of mankind, at this point in history, is that we have evolved from simple life to complex over a span of millions of years. A basic presumption in the process is that it is unguided except for whatever influences grew out of a big bang that set the process into action and provided whatever potential would survive to develop the resources. That the process could develop without a guiding intelligence, related to God, is unattractive for me to believe. The meaning of mankind in sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, believing, reflecting, and reproducing in kind is beyond any current evidence related to the large or small forces of neuter nature. The concepts of God or nature are mysteries to probe. It is intelligible that God might use some process of development to gain our currency, and how it came about is of little importance to our presentation of the moment. If life is without God, nothing really makes any difference except as mankind is able to influence the blind process to delay death’s conclusions. Even devout persons have believed that if that is the scenario, they would choose to eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. (Luke 12:19; 15:23) But the heavens declare the glory of God.
Part of the confusion of mankind is found in the mixture of sin (negative) and righteousness (affirmative). We find ourselves: ugly and beautiful, ignorant and learned, loving and hating, revealed and hidden, and the list grows long for description. We are lively coins with heads and tails. We live our lives making the choices, leaning one way and then the other until we find something tolerable. It is possible to end life acceptant of death without hope of anything more, and be grateful for the life we were afforded – so to go unafraid into final breath. Life is too precious to disregard – even if there were no God to guard us or require anything of us. The strong are seen as those who do not believe beyond the great sleep. The weak are those who need some hope for life beyond the grave. The Christian perceives the context quite differently. Weakness is seen in lack of faith. Strength is seen as grasping and holding faith. Faith has the imagination for that which is on yonder shore. Life becomes a work of preparation for another shore than this one. The end of life on this shore is the beginning on the other. It is likely that the obedience to the life on yonder shore will lead to progression to another, and from that to another. The life that comes from God (his image) can never die, but can be redirected. The progression is heaven, the stall is hell.
To manage this for mankind takes some doing. God permits each person to make choices and every other person to respect that right. (Revelation 22:11) Even God respects the right that belongs to his image. For those who follow in faith, God offers award that we identify as heaven. Only faith can grasp it, and only God builds the bridge that supports his children from this environment to another. The easiest understanding of heaven in earth terms is that Christ is alive, and that his own will be joined to him so that: where he is there I will be also. Where Christ is there is our heaven. The redemptive Christ takes his children home. The present concern for those children is to be strong enough to weather nature’s storms.
The Apostle Peter, in a unique passage found in his second letter refers to the Apostle Paul, relates some of Paul’s writings to Scripture, admits that the composition is sophisticated, and emphasizes the problem even Christians have with the approved words – that although with some difficulty in the meaning of God’s Word to us there is heroic strength in holding faith that does not fall from stedfastness (3:17). The passage is arresting, not only in naming another Apostle, who might be doubted in being born out of due time (1 Corinthians 15:8) – but also to acknowledge strength sufficient to maintain faith. The agreement of the Apostles, in simplicity, is that faith in Christ is to identify with him, and that identity is qualifying for meaning to immortality. That context is seen as good, as an ecstasy found in the glory of God, as a special relationship with Christ expressed in the analogy of marriage – the Church as the redeemed Bride of Christ. The agreement of this spiritual truth by so many persons of integrity is persuasive. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020