The Idolatry of Heavenly Comfort

Whenever I'm asked to speak at a funeral I will at some point read the following Scripture:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, 

and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of

heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice 

from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, 

and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, 

neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, 

for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:1-4 ESV)

Now I have always read this passage for a couple of reasons.  First, I had always heard it read at funerals and it seemed that it was sort of expected.  Secondly, I read it because of the comfort that people receive.  I believe that this verse and for that matter all of Revelation was written in part to give Christians comfort in the glory to come.  However, I believe that the comfort one receives often comes from a misguided focus on the text.

I read this Scripture at funerals because the grieving family is comforted by the thought that every tear is wiped away, that death will be no more, that there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.  All of this is true and again, I believe it is there to bring us comfort.  There is comfort in knowing that one day all the pain will be gone.

However, I must admit that I have mishandled this Scripture.  The fact is that I have used this Scripture to point people to the idea that there will be no more tears.  The text though is not about this.  The text is about why there is no more pain and suffering.  The text is about, "He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

If one continues on in the reading, the text moves forward giving a grand description of the new Jerusalem.  Everything is amazing.  The city is of pure gold with jasper walls adorned with all kinds of precious jewels.  Then one comes to the heart of the message:

"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, 

and his servants will worship him." (Revelation 22:3 ESV)

When we read this text we may find comfort in the knowledge that there will be no more pain or sorrow; we may be in awe of the wonder of the new Jerusalem but we have to recognize that the text is pointing us to dwell with and to worship the Lord.  It is true that there are no more tears but that is because we are now fully with the Lord.  He is the reason for the pain being gone.  He is the reason for the mourning to cease.  He is the reason for the curse to be no longer.  He is the reason.  To focus on the results of His presence is to make those results our longing.  We long for no more tears and no more pain.  If this though is our longing then this is what our hearts desire and we have made an idol out of the comfort, out of the no more tears and no more pain.

When we read this text it should point us to Jesus and the glory of the Lord.  We can be thankful for all the joy that will come but our desire and longing should not be for no more tears but for the worship and glory of our Lord.  When we long for Heaven it should be because there we are fully with Jesus and we are gathered together to worship Him.  May we desire to be in His presence.  May we desire His glory above all.

Give me Revelation - Day 12 of Lent

I know that yesterday I said that I was not going to be posting about my Lent journey everyday but I just had to share something with you. Today, I read Revelation (sticking with my John books from the previous days) and, wow, what a book. You know Revelation is one of those books that to be perfectly honest you read (particularly as a pastor) when you are wanting to preach about the lukewarm church or else you are doing a study of the end times. As such you read it trying to pick apart all of the beasts and dragons and lake of fire. You try to figure out who is who and what represents what. And perhaps what we really look for is "signs of the time."

However, as I sat down and simply read it straight through not concerning myself with if I fully understood all of the imagery and time line, I found myself pulled into a wonderful story. I remember years ago hearing someone say that we in America often read the book of Revelation and focus on the tribulations, while people in the Soviet Union (again this was years ago that I heard this) when given the opportunity to read the book do so with a focus on the hope of which the book speaks. That's what I saw this morning. Sure the book has plenty of tribulation, plenty of destruction, death, and horrifying images but what is really there is the triumph of the Lord. What is spoken of by John with grand and magnificent words, almost beyond his own ability to describe is the glory of God.

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price." Revelation 22:17

Come. Drink. Glory in Him.

In His grace, for His glory,
John.