Brothers,
Sorry for the previous email being so long winded (attached). It was about a possible epiphany God gave me in my Quiet Time a couple days ago. I want your input as to its consistency, or inconsistency, with the Word of God. I am going to try and simplify how the thought came to me. I am going to put it in a format similar to our BSF Discussion Questions: 1. In Lesson 7 Q9b we had this question: What heavenly treasures can a Christian store up that can never be lost? _____________________________________ a. How do we go about doing this? ______________________________ 2. In Lesson 7 Q10c we had this: What do the following verses, <2 Cor 4:17-18> say about treasure?: _____________________________________ a. What are examples of our ‘present troubles’? _________________________________ b. What might that ‘glory’ look like? __________________________________ 3. Do we receive rewards in heaven? (Matt 5:12; Luke 6:23; 1 Cor 3:14; 9:18) _____________________________ a. When do we receive them? (2 Cor 5:10) _______________________________ b. Why do we receive them? (2 Cor 5:10; Heb 6:10; 1 Cor 3:11-15) _____________________________ c. What are they? - 1 Cor 9:24-25 ___________________________________ - 1 Thess 2:19 ____________________________________ - 2 Tim 4:8 _______________________________________ - 1 Pet 5:4 _______________________________________ - Rev 3:20 _______________________________________ d. For doing what? (Matt 25:35-40; Luke 12:48) _________________________________ e. What did the twenty-four elders in Revelation do with their crowns? (Rev 4:10) ______________________________________ 4. What will we be doing in heaven? (Rev 19:7-9; Rev 7:9-10) __________________________________ a. What else? (Rev 5:10; Rev 22:3; 2 Tim 2:12) _______________________________ 5. The new heaven and new earth. What is our involvement in the New Jerusalem? (Rev 21; Rev 22) ________________________________________ Ponder these answers for a little bit. Then tell me if you think my following conclusion is Scriptural. As you well know things have not gone well for me since my brain tumor. Pretty much everything all my doctors tried did not work (except for the surgery). The Christian counsel that God would use this for good in my life would soon be apparent. That has not happened yet. But maybe this interpretation of the above verses will help me going forward. Epiphany. 1. Jesus tells me to store up treasure in heaven. Meaning, I have responsibility to do something and there are definite things that have eternal results. 2. There are many different things we can do to store these treasures and one of them is_2 Cor 4:17-18. It states that our ‘present troubles’ are sending on treasure for us in heaven. It doesn’t even state if we respond well to them that will happen. 3. Normally, I think of ‘present troubles’ as financial pressure, conflicts at work, conflicts with wife or children, the ever-present hostility against Christians in society… But why wouldn’t it mean illness? Why wouldn’t it mean consequences from a permanently destroyed frontal lobe? Certainly that too is a ‘present trouble.’ 4. Even though it is not clear what we will be doing in heaven, it is clear we will have titles (kings, priests…), we will have authority and responsibility, we will be serving Christ in some manner… and so many things can be extrapolated from our role in the New Jerusalem. Could it be that some of the treasure we will store in heaven is within ourselves? Perhaps we have had much suffering here on earth. Could it be that it wasn’t so much for what it did within us here but what it prepares us for in heaven? Could little things like loving the Lord, reading our Bibles, reaching the lost and broken, loving our families… done on a regular basis, be also producing 2 Cor 4:17-18 results (… producing for us a glory that vastly outweighs any of the reasons on earth)? I am now believing that my current suffering with my lobe damage will probably not have any earthly value. I can accept that. I can accept it because now I believe it is having a heavenly value and that value is much greater to me. |
AuthorErv Thomas is married with two children and is a Mechanical Engineer. Archives
July 2022
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