Heaven Help Us
April 26, 2007 by pistolpete
We see and hear so much of hell. Just whatever happened to heaven? Philip Yancey ponders this and many other questions in his book I Was Just Wondering. Yancey identifies three factors in our loss of heavenly thoughts.
First - “Affluence has brought us in this life what former generations could only anticipate in heaven.“
Why dream of a heavenly hereafter when what you most want is in the here-and-now? This isn’t to say we’re actually satisified with what we experience in this life, only that we delude ourselves into thinking that the best is not yet to come, but it’s here for the taking.
Second, writes Yancey - “A creeping paganism invites us to accept death as the culmination of life on earth, not as a violent transition into an ongoing life.”
Yancey cites death & dying expert Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. The final stage is not one of preparation for something yet to be gained, but acceptance for something that has been or is about to be lost.
Third, Yancey says - “The older, biblical images of heaven have lost their appeal.”
Who wants to wear a white robe all day, play a harp and walk along streets of gold? Can’t we do better than that?
Yancey finds hope for heaven in the modern world within the African-American faith community.
“If you want to hear newer, more relevant images of heaven, attend a few black funerals. With characteristic eloquence, the preachers paint word pictures of a life so serene and sensuous that everyone in the congregation starts fidgeting to go there.”
One of the first funerals I ever attended was in a predominantly African-American church. As I walked in, streams of mournful music played on the organ, accompanied by the sound of women wailers. The casket, with the dead body prominently displayed, was placed just below the pulpit.
The grief-stricken sounds, however, soon blended in wonderful harmony with a beautiful baritone voice singing hopeful words from the Psalms. As the service progressed, loud cries became triumphant shouts.
The dead body was still in front of us, but we were transported to heaven. If you closed your eyes, it was as if you were already there. Even if you kept them open, the sight of this corpse wasn’t nearly as potent as the sight of the empty cross above it.
This is the greatest challenge for Christians living in a death-dealing culture. Instead of giving them hell, go out there and ”give ‘em heaven.”
more on heaven and hell…
Another thought invoking post!! May have to keep checking back here!!
Give ‘em heaven!!!
The Pistol fires back: Please do. For a half-interesting person, I usually have something to say each day.
btw, hope you visit me soon!! I have an interesting post up now.
The Pistol fires back: I did check you out yesterday. Is that Jimmy Buffett in the background? Thanks for linking to my site.
Good post. I’ve often felt that we (and by we I’m talking Americans) have become so complacent in our lives because of the affluence/paganism. You and Yancy makes some good points. I wonder what it will take to wake us up?
B~
The Pistol fires back: I would say nothing short of a loud trumpet call from on high will wake us up from our self-absorbed slumber.
That is a beautiful photo. I’m struggling with an “empty road” issue, and losing hope and faith. Thanks for this, it’s the photo that got me.
The Pistol fires back: I felt the same way. What a hopeful image. Keep moving forward in faith. Heaven’s out there.
I would add to this that we have an inappropriate vision of “heaven” or the “kingdom of God”…we visualize heaven as a disembodied ethereal far off place.
The reality is that God promises new heavens and new EARTH. We have become a bit gnostic in our faith. God never intended us to be separate from the physical. Yes, when we die, our souls will reside with God…HOWEVER, this is only temporary. Ultimately, we will have a real, physical resurrected body, and reside on the new earth, as it was in the beginning.
No, frankly, I’m not that interested in floating around on a cloud, in a white robe, playing the harp. I AM interested in physical resurrection, on a resurrected or new earth, with all of it’s inherent goodness.
Oops, perhaps I went on a bit…..
The Pistol fires back: Amen & Amen.
excellent post pistol just curious are you familiar with preterism also known as realized eschatology/covenant theology??? would be very interested in your take if you are and if your not well would be cool to share with you it really relates to what yancey is talking about keep on firing away gunslinger!!
The Pistol fires back: I have heard of “realized eschatology”, but I’m not that familiar. Why not do a post on it & I’ll check it out?
Like your inclusion of bi-polar disorder on side-bar. see my blog as i have it & raise a large family. The Unquiet Mind by Jamison is one of my favourite books….
God bless
The Pistol fires back: Thank you for dropping by. May God continue to bless your life and ministry.
I’ve had visions of heaven. One in which I visited, one in which I saw my father on the way. Never of hell. When my father died I saw him being carried away by an angel. A voice said:
“Take comfort! The Spirit and Heaven, like God, are timeless and have no beginning and no end. Your father has not gone to the present Heaven, but to the future Heaven! You and your descendants, as well as your ancestors, are all there to greet him!”
Think about it. It is very comforting to me. I call the vision “Crossing Over”
I’m posting some of my visions on a blog. Come visit http://extraordinaryvisions.wordpress.com
I had these visions 10 years ago, nothing in the last 7 years, however. Now I’m 70 and just now making them public.
I’ve also had a vision involving “moving hills” in which a much straighter road passes through, not over the green grass covered hills, not unlike the hill in your picture but not like the muddy road.
Oldtimer
The Pistol fires back: Thanks for dropping by. I pray God’s blessings on you.