Another good topic shalom. That great country club in the sky, right?
Some folks imagine it will be like one of those all-inclusive vacations, where everything is paid for. I’ve been on a few of those and they really are like paradise on earth. I swam with dolphins, went golfing, parasailing, scuba diving with manta rays and sea turtles, zip lining, had massages, free food and drinks, evening entertainment, hiking, biking, off-roading, horseback riding… Sounds heavenly, right?
Or some imagine a more simple life of leisure, a cabin-in-the-woods, with no pressures of time or society. No deadlines, no responsibilities. A fireplace and a book.
How about tea with the Queen? Like you say, one might imagine sitting on the porch or in the palace, catching up with loved ones, or asking God and all His historical role players questions we’ve always wondered about.
But there’s an interesting parable (among many) that offers a small glimpse into a future kingdom of God— that kingdom of heaven, where it’s not quite as we might imagine. In Luke 19 we get a different sort of picture.
It seems that the kingdom of God is at least in part, a place of judgment as well as a time of reward. Faithful servants, who were diligent received reward. The lazy and unfaithful were cut down. All this in the context of that kingdom.
And Jesus provided other hints at this place of which we know so little. When asked a hypothetical question about life after death he stated as much, telling those who asked the question that they didn’t know what they were talking about…(Who will the widow be married to in heaven, after having had seven husbands on earth?) — ‘It’s not like that…’ (Matt 22:33) In the resurrection they will be like the angels in heaven, who don’t marry and are not given in marriage. He said they had the wrong idea. It’s not a place to hang out with those who have died, because God is a god of the living. It’s a radical thought.
Many theologians think that the original garden of Eden is an image of paradise-- an image of heaven, where man walked and communed with God. Yet even Eden was a place where the intention was for man to work, and be responsible, and to care for everything he had been given. He was tasked with many things, and told to be fruitful.
Lastly-- there were still enemies within. It’s a gated community for a reason, and there have always been rebels and malcontents seeking to tear it all down and burn it. It’s a kingdom that needs protecting, with armies and warriors, soldiers and generals and battles.
It’s fascinating.
