but before the talk, i had just been thinking of an analogy…
i was excited yet uncertain and afraid even! i couldn’t go to london just on the preconceptions i had of london and fixed in the ways of s’pore living, but i had to find out more about the way of life in london, the entertainment, the cost of living, the COST OF GOING THERE… ,
if i were not as fluent in my english, i would have to brush up on it and practice it even more than before, i had to find out about the weather so i could know what kind of clothes to bring over… i had to settle my accommodation in london before leaving s’pore so that i know i will have a place to stay there… i had to mentally prepare myself for leaving my family and friends, well at least temporarily, and not to pine after the food and entertainment in s’pore…
the main concern in s’pore was how i could adapt to life in london… would i be lonely? would i enjoy it? would i get used to the cold? i had already secured a place in university and lodging in a hall of residence, plus the plane ticket sponsored by psc…everything had been paid for already… yet i remember being afraid… afraid of what? i think mainly the uncertainty in the reality of it all… like wow i can’t believe i’m going to london to study! i’d never have dreamed about it a few years ago! it’s going to be so new, like an adventure and a new life/ beginning… i’m so used to s’pore life, would i be used to life in london??
and the revelation came to me today that that was almost exactly the kind of fear i have of going to heaven…well, the fear is not so tangible or strong now… it’s more like a haunting unrest… but in the light of this analogy, going to heaven takes lots of preparation on earth: spiritually, mentally, emotionally…
i will think and anticipate and dream a lot of how it will be like in heaven… even doubt, or be unsure of how it really is as opposed to how i’ve imagined it – the culmination of all i’ve read in the Bible and heard from people (like hearing that it london is really cosmopolitan and doubting if i would feel comfortable or experience racism)… we have to find out the rules of kingdom living, the way of Jesus, the truth of the Spirit, the Bible, the majesty of God… i’ve to learn to speak the language of angels… speaking in tongues?… or at least learn the language of love, for that’s the language that God speaks in… and not just learn, but to actively practise it here…
i’ve to discover what it means to store up treasures in heaven, what spiritual things i can accumulate on earth (like the fruits of the Spirit – love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control) so i can bring them to heaven and not let all the junk accumulate til in the end, they have to remain on earth…
i’ve to mentally cleave myself away from the things i hold dear to me on earth, for i know that eternity will separate us, and not just a few mere months in the case of studying in london… and on this point, all the more i have to see the urgency of encouraging people to make the journey with me… for the lost loved one will forever remain apart from me…
i have to learn not to be so attached to the world that i look back and have temptations to regret leaving (matt 19:16-24 the rich young man)…
2 main points:
1) adapting to life in london: will i be alone? will i know anyone there?
👉 adapting to life in heaven: i will not be alone! i will be with fellow believers!!
2) security of a place in university/ accommodation (i remember calling up the hall while i was still in s’pore to ask if my place was secure, and the guy reassuring me time and again that yes i have a place…), my place in london was all based on the belief and trust in the university’s integrity and word that i was accepted…all expenses paid for by psc, to travel to london and to live in london
👉 security of my place in heaven – Jesus’ the payment (for both my position as God’s child, and for the passageway from death to life – jhn 1:12), the Holy Spirit the deposit (eph 1:14), God’s unchangeable word and certainty in His promise (heb 6:17-19)…in God’s kingdom there are many rooms and Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me, all expenses paid for…the cost has been paid…
soo…what have i to be afraid for?? i guess it’s just the natural human tendency to fear transitions…to fear stepping out from a comfort zone with an anticipatory step into the semi-unknown… we know of the existence of the outside, but we’ve never experienced it in its totality… we could look at it from the inside of the circle, but never dare to leave what we’ve comfortably built up around us…
Lord Jesus, fill me with expectations and desires and eager anticipation of the new heaven and the new earth - 2 peter 3:12 –13… amen!
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