I don't get many original ideas. But earlier this year God used a troubling verse to help me understand eternity in a new way. First let me say that I am a social being. I like talking with people, I like playing games with people. I enjoy singing with people. However if you take the people out of these activities I find them somewhat boring and tedious. For this reason the idea of spending eternity worshipping God as portrayed in Rev.4 has left me somewhat cold. Don't get me wrong I love playing and singing praise to God, and when an entire gathering of people join their voices in worship - it's truly wonderful. But even the best worships begin to loose their luster after about and hour and a half. Now think of one that last for a couple hundred thousand years, or decades, or millennium - get the point. Who wants to be in church for that long? Do you, be honest now.
My "original idea" (it wasn't original to God) came to me as we were reading the following passage in worship.
Deut. 5:9-10 (NIV)
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, [10] but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
To be honest this is one of those passages in scripture that sort of pissed me off. How could a loving God punish a child, not for their sins but the sins of another? Now I understood the passage that our sins have consequences and as a father my screw ups leave scars upon my children that will last into my grandchildren and great grandchildren. But it was from this same passage that I received a new glimpse into eternity. For the scripture goes on that for those that love God their is a positive legacy that last not for two or three but a thousand generations.
If you really believe these words I hope you can believe this. In God's kingdom we will see the connections of how God has blessed us (usually through others) and these blessings will be evident as far back as a thousand generations. So my new picture of heaven is walking into the great assembly of God's people and having tons of people I've never met saying "John - I've wanted to meet you for years. Back when you were in Oklahoma you brought a youth group to the nursing home and sang for a half dozen grey haired old women. One of them was my great great grandmother who shared the joy she received from your visit with my her daughter, my great grandmother. From those few songs and a nervous hug you started my entire family on our journey of faith. As soon as he or she turns away I see a face and I recognize this woman, even though we've never met. I walk up and say "Mrs Patterson - we've never me but your son Craig is largely responsible for me being here today, thank you for passing the blessing on to your son, who then passed it on to me. Imagine a 1000 generations - people from rural Africa being connected to people born 10 thousand years before who never left the fields of Kentucky. People from small home churches being connected to pastors of mega congregations. Blacks being connected with whites. People who speak only Swahili being connected wtih believers in China. Talk about a party! And what's better it will never get old because you are always meeting new members of God's family that you blessed or you were blessed through them! Now that is a heaven I can get excited about!
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