Archive for September, 2008

Two Sons

September 28, 2008 at 12:10 am · Filed under Christian living, New Testament ·Tagged , ,

The Two Sons   Matthew 21: 28-30

Readings: Matt. 21: 23-32,  James 2: 14-22

“But Dad,” whined the young man, “I don’t want to!  What do we employ servants for?” he muttered to himself, “Watching the vineyard is not my job.” He hurried away to escape the guilt of  his refusal.

Meanwhile, his father went in search of his younger boy. “Son we need some help in the vineyard. Will  you do it? “OK… OK” he replied, “Don’t worry Dad.  You leave it to me. No problem.”
“The best policy,” he mused, “is always to tell people what they want to hear. It gets them off your back. Anyway, I’ll go over later to keep Dad happy.”

Back in his room the elder boy was annoyed. “It’s just not fair!” he exclaimed. “Why should I? It’s not even my field. I wouldn’t get my kids working it”.

Self justification would not work. He hated himself for the way he had treated his father. He knew he had neither excuse nor reason to refuse. It was simply his pride. He hated being told what to do at the best of times and this was not one of them. “Only one thing for it”, he sighed. “I’ll have to go. There will be no peace till I do. And off he went.

Meanwhile, his younger brother was busy procrastinating – time was conveniently slipping by.. And by… And by… until it was too late.
Jesus concludes the story ( Matt 21:  28-32) by asking which of the two did what his father wanted. The point is as obvious today as it was to the religious leaders listening at the time: its not what we say, but what we do, that counts. 
( this version of the story by Steve Chilcraft)

Jesus told this story because the chief priests and elders of the people were questioning his teaching. This parable was aimed at them.  It’s all about obedience – the son who did what the father asked is commended – not the son who promised but did not deliver.

We see here:

 The danger of religious formalism

 Jesus said to the religious leaders, “The ’sinners’ are entering the Kingdom of God before you. Those people who collect taxes for the hated Romans  (traitors to their own people), prostitutes and other immoral people – those whom you despise – these are the kind of people who are now entering the Kingdom.
These folk started life wrong. They went off the rails, they departed from God’s ways. They denied him by their lives and they said they had no intention of serving him. But now, when they hear the preaching of John the Baptist they are cut to the heart. They are repenting of their sins, they are confessing their faults and they are being baptized by John. They are entering into the Kingdom of God.

In the parable which Jesus told, the son who said he wouldn’t go and work in the vineyard but then changed his mind represents these ’sinners’ who are now entering the Kingdom. They have changed their minds. They have repented. And Jesus commends them for doing this.

“But you”, he says to the chief priests and elders, “you started out the right way. You set yourselves up as religious folk. You said you were going to serve God. You said his Law was your delight. Then John the Baptist came,  preaching the coming of the Kingdom, and you rejected his message! Even when you saw the lives of these sinners being transformed you did not yourselves repent and believe.  You are like the son who said he was going to work and then didn’t do it. All words and no action!”

The trouble is that religious people can so often see themselves as ‘righteous’. They do not think they need to repent. They think it’s enough to go through with some religious rituals, and to talk about obedience to God.

Ruth (not her real name) went out at an evangelistic rally. Now she thinks of herself as a Christian. Her Christian friends think so also because she knows how to say the right words. But her lifestyle is immoral. She knows how to ‘talk the talk’ but not how to ‘walk the walk’.

But God wants actions, not just words, from his people

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,
To be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.

 

We must keep our word

I think people take promises lightly today.

“I’ll come round tomorrow”, they say. But they never turn up.
“I’ll do it next week”. But months later it’s still not done.
If you’ve ever been involved in selling and buying of houses you’ll know that some one can make a promise and then let you down at the last moment.

Now the follower of Christ should be a man or woman of their word.  Such a way of thinking has a very old-fashioned feel about it, doesn’t it?  Yet there was a time when people would say “My word is my bond” and mean it. 

What is it the Psalmist says of the truly righteous person?

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
  Or who may stand in His holy place?

 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, 
     Nor sworn deceitfully.
 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
      And righteousness from the God of his salvation.   (Psalm 24: 3-5)

And:
He who despises a vile man but honours those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,  who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.  (Psalm 15:  4,5)

 

 Words are no substitute for actions

James says:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  (James 2:  14-16)

Obviously just saying, “Be fed!”, etc. will do no good. We have to do something.
What then about promises we make to God.

 The writer of Ecclesiastes says: Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Eccles 5: 2)

And:
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfil it.       (Eccles 5: 4-5)

How true this is.

In the parable, the son who promised and did not perform is condemned. I have no doubt that some people often promise, when they have no intention of keeping the promise. I can think of some situations in Church where this happens:

Marriage vows
In the marriage service it says that “Marriage is not to be entered into lightly” – but often it is, without either the bride of groom thinking about the seriousness of the vows they make.

Promises made at baptism
In the baptism service parents promise to bring up their child in the Christian faith – but often we never see parents or child again in church.

Promises made at confirmation
What we are talking about here are the responsibilities of church membership.
Now I can respect the person who declines to become a church member as a matter of principle – because they are not sure that they can take on the commitment, or because they feel their faith is not strong. But what about the person who takes on membership but then hardly ever comes to church?

What does God think about these promises?

I know I have been preaching to the converted. But remember: God rewards obedience.

Words come cheap – promises, vows, professions of faith -  they are all easy to make, whereas actions are costly. But it’s actions which count in the end.

Prayer
O Lord, give us grace to do the works of God and to believe in Jesus Christ your Son. Save us from being like those religious people who refused to believe in Jesus. Amen.

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The fish and the bicycle

September 27, 2008 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Christian living, God the Father, The Holy Spirit ·Tagged , ,

Baptismal Family Service: The fish and the bicycle

(used at a baptism service in the Brecon Presbyterian Church)


Sometimes you hear people saying “I need that like a fish needs a bicycle!” In other words: “I don’t need it”. A fish has no legs  -so a bike would be useless to it. I’m going to talk about a fish and a bicycle today: but this will be about things we do need.

The fish

Once there was a little fish who said to his mother, “Mum, where is the ocean?”        “Well, you’re in it!” she said.
“What do you mean? I can’t see it.”
“No you can’t see it, but you’re swimming in it. And you’re breathing it when you open your mouth – water goes in and passes over your gills. But you can’t feel it because you’re in it all the time.”
“I don’t believe you!”, he said. If I can’t see it and I can’t feel it, then it doesn’t exist. There’s no such thing as the ocean! And  with that he swam off to play with his friends in
the wide and deep ocean!

 

What a foolish fish! Because he was in the ocean he could not see it. But if he had been caught in the nets of a trawler- that would have been a different story. He would soon have realized what the ocean was. And he would have missed it badly as he gasped in the hold of the fishing boat – a fish out of water. Then he would have realized how important the ocean was to him.

I think  a lot of people are like that fish. They say God doesn’t exist, just because they can’t see him or touch him. But like the fish in the story they are  being foolish.
 The fool says in his heart, There is no God. (Psalm 14:1)

You see: like the ocean, God is all around us, and in us. He created us and everything else, and he keeps it all in being. He is the Ground of our Existence.
In him we live and move and have our being. ( Acts 17:28 )

You know, the worst thing that can happen to a fish is to be taken out of the ocean – and the worst thing for us is to be separated from God. But if people continually reject God  (we are warned in the Bible)  they shall eventually be eternally separated from God. There is a word for this state of separation -  we call it Hell.

But the wonderful good news is that God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not die eternally but shall have eternal life.  (John 3: 16).
Jesus died on the cross to save us from that state of separation. It’s like rescuing a fish and throwing it back alive into the ocean, and seeing it swim joyfully away.

The Good News is all about Jesus.

 

The bicycle

Gethin and Rachel, you have just confessed your faith in God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 
You can think of the Father as the one in whom we “live and move and have our being – the ocean in which we swim, if you like.
 And you can think of Jesus, the one who took human form and died on the cross to save us from eternal separation from God. To save us from our sins, our wrong deeds, and to put us right with God.
Whenever anyone believes in Jesus, and trusts in him, and commits themselves to him they become a new person. They receive the Holy Spirit,  who is the Third Person of God. He helps us to live as Christians. He gives us the power to live the Christian life – to live lives of love, and honesty, and truth, and integrity.

Electric Bike

Here is  a bicycle.  Now a bike is a good way to get around,  especially on the flat, but when you have to climb hills it can he hard work.  It’s easier if you’ve got good gears – like on a mountain bike. But this bike is not a mountain bike. it’s not an ordinary bike either.Can you see anything different about it?  It’s a bit heavier than usual. What’s this box here? It’s a battery!  Yes this is an electric bike. It’s got a motor in the back wheel. [demonstrate power]
So it’s much easier getting up the hills here in Brecon.

Now there are two ways of using this bike with the power on. If you put the switch in this position you you can use the throttle, and off the bike goes without  you having to pedal at all (although you might have to pedal a bit to help it up the hills).

But with the switch in this position you have power assisted mode. You pedal the bike as normal and whenever the pedal moves the motor give a bit of a push to the wheel. so you go forward faster.  You get a bit of help. If you pedal faster it gives  you more help. If you stop pedalling it stops giving you power. So in the power assisted mode you and the bike work together to go forward.

Now I would say that living the Christian life is like that. God gives us the power of the Holy Spirit  to help us to live as Christians should live. But we’ve got our part to play as well. Sometimes God will not help us  unless we do certain things – just as you only get power assistance when you move the pedals.

So there are some things we have to do. For instance:

  •  We have to believe in Jesus and commit ourselves to him
  • Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is
  • this: to believe in the one he has sent. (John 6: 28-29)
  • we have to be humble
  • we have to be sorry for our sins
  • we have to listen to God. He can speak to us through the Bible.  We’ve got to read it, or listen to it being read.
  •  we have to learn about Jesus and his ways
  • we have to come to church and worship God with other Christians
  • we have to pray and to seek his help to live our lives.

Rachel and Gethin today have asked God’s help and blessing on their child Craig. But they’ve got to play their part too. They must teach Craig and Nerys and Owain about God and Jesus, pray with them, pray for them, bring them to church. Family services like this are a good way to start.

In God we live and move and have our being.  He is all around us, but we will not connect with him until we play our part. When we trust in him, his divine life and power can flow into our lives.

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The cure for worry

September 6, 2008 at 4:30 pm · Filed under Christian living ·Tagged , ,

Matthew 6:24-34

Introduction

Someone once said: “you can not change yesterday but you can ruin a perfectly good today by worrying about tomorrow”.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus addresses the problem of worry. Modern life is so stressful and anxiety-ridden that we tend to think we have a monopoly on worry; that there was some golden age in the past when people lived quiet, pastoral, stress-free lives. We tend to think that primitive tribes today in the rain forest live that kind of life. But anthropologists tell us that even in the most undeveloped societies – where people seem to be living close to nature – even there they have anxieties and all the symptoms of neurosis. It’s just that whereas civilized people worry about their bank balance, their job security, or about global warming, primitive people worry about where the next meal is coming from, about illness, the power of spirits and demons and witchdoctors putting spells on them.

Jesus came into the world as Physician for the soul, to heal our fallen spiritual state – of which worry is but one of the symptoms. Let’s look at his diagnosis and his prescription:

 
1) The symptoms of our spiritual malaise

These are obvious enough – worry – crushing, paralyzing, debilitating worry. Sometimes it prevents us from getting on with our daily tasks. All sorts of physical symptoms also can be caused by worry – headaches, digestive problems, high blood pressure, etc.

Often our concern is, as Jesus said, about the essentials of life – what we shall eat or drink, or how we will clothe and shelter our bodies. We worry about our own needs and about those of our families. We’re anxious abut the future. But Jesus says: “take no thought for the morrow” (v34, KJV) 

What on earth can he mean by this? Surely we must plan, make provision for the future, be provident? Yes indeed,  but I think that Jesus is wanting to stress that we must not allow these material concerns to crowd out eternal and spiritual things.

In the Parable of the Sower, you will recall, some of the seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked the plants. In the same way, the cares and anxieties of life can spring up like weeds and choke our spiritual life. (The desire to be rich is something else, Jesus tells us, which also chokes the spiritual life.)

 
2) the diagnosis of our spiritual malaise

It is a kind of spiritual split personality – trying to go two ways at once

No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (v 24)

We were meant for fellowship with God and to live our lives in his service, but so often we try to serve the gods of this world as well. These are the gods of materialism and self-interest.

This is the way of the world:
 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (v32)
Jesus indicates that God is not ignorant of our physical needs, but other things must come first

It has been said that “the claims of Jesus reach right to the bottom of a person’s bank account”.

 
3) The treatment for our spiritual malaise

This is the prescription: Matthew 6: 33-34 to be taken daily

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Put first things first. Yes, our requirements for food, clothes and shelter are our most pressing needs. But they are not our deepest needs. They are not the most important in the long term. Far more important is being in a right relationship with God, because that is for eternity. Our eternal state is vastly more important than our present one but we seem to find this hard to grasp. It should be obvious to anyone that food, clothes, money, etc, are for this life only and yet we act as though they were solid and lasting.

Jesus said, “man does not live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

When Jesus went to visit Martha and Mary at Bethany, Mary sat listening to Jesus’ teaching. She hung on his every word. She valued him and what he said. But Martha was so flustered and busy rushing around, getting the meal ready, that she did not even listen to Jesus. She thought that with all her preparations she was honouring Jesus, but in reality she was dishonouring him. She had no time to give attention to his words. The greatest way to honour and respect a person is to give them your undivided attention. And that’s just what Mary was doing. You see, Jesus hadn’t gone to their house primarily to eat food. He had gone  to teach about God’s Kingdom. He wanted to talk to Martha as well as Mary but Martha was too bothered and anxious to listen

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”. The Kingdom of God refers to his rule in our lives. Righteousness means being in a right standing with God and then going out and doing all the right things he requires of us. We are talking about commitment and obedience here. And from this comes trust in the goodness and providence of God. 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?     (v26-27)

It is this trust that is the cure for worry.

But we don’t mean just sitting back and doing nothing. It’s not a matter of indolently waiting for things to happen. A preacher once said:“God feeds the birds, but he doesn’t throw food into their nests!” They have to look for it, and so do we. We have our daily work to do to earn our daily bread. But in the midst of  that daily labour and struggle we can maintain an attitude of trust in God. We believe he will provide for us and we resolutely refuse to worry.
 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (v34)

We must not allow either the future, or the past, to spoil our present. Past sins are forgiven. Past mistakes are overruled and woven into the pattern of his purposes. future needs will be supplied.

In truth, we only have to deal with today. The present is all we have. The past is gone and the future is not yet here. And when tomorrow comes it will be today.  “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!”
Jesus said, “Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Or “Sufficient unto the day the evil thereof” ( in the King James Version). And when that evil comes, God will give us the strength to deal with it. He gives us his help on a moment-to-moment basis.

One writer has described it as “living in day-tight compartments”, rather like the water-tight compartments of a ship which make is more difficult to sink. We should not let regrets about the past, or fears about the future, seep into the compartment labeled “today”.

 

Conclusion


The song “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God” was written by Karen Lafferty. Karen grew up in a Christian home but never made her commitment to Christ. She became a night-club singer in New Orleans and was drawn into a world of drugs and the occult. But an encounter with Christian friends brought her to faith in Jesus and she was delivered from all these evils.

After a while Karen felt God was calling her to give up the lucrative night-club work and become a full-time Christian singer. So she did that -  and within a few weeks she was financially destitute.

One Sunday she went to church and the pastor preached on “seek ye first the Kingdom of God”. Karen prayed that God would supply her financial needs and she rededicated herself to him. On the way home the words of Scripture and a tune kept coming into her mind. Once home, she got out her guitar, worked out the chords and sang the song: “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you, allelu, alleluia.” When she shared this song with a friend she was invited to sing it in church. It became a very popular worship song, was recorded and published. Over the years this song has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties. On the proceeds of that song Karen has been able to travel around ministering to people in spiritual need through her music. The giving of the song itself proved to be God’s answer to Karen’s prayer. She sought his Kingdom and his righteousness, and her needs were provided for.

Let us stop worrying. Let us trust God. But remember: obedience and commitment come first.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.”

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Searching for snails

September 4, 2008 at 11:05 pm · Filed under Christian living, New Testament, The hereafter ·Tagged , , ,

 Mark 10:17-31, Colossians 3:1-10


Introduction

An old fable tells about a crane who was wading in a stream looking for snails when a beautiful swan landed nearby. The crane had never seen a swan before, so he asked, “What are you?” “I’m a swan,” came the reply. “And where did you come from?” the crane inquired. “Heaven,” the swan answered. “What is that?” asked the crane. the swan eagerly began to explain its beauty and glory. He spoke of the new Jerusalem, the city of pure gold with a jasper wall and pearly gates. He described its “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” At that point the crane interrupted, “Tell me, are there any snails in heaven?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the swan said. “Then I don’t want to go there,” the crane stated decisively. “I like snails!”

 

Looking for snails?

 

The Apostle Paul writes:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-3 )

Now, “snails” in the story could represent the sinful things of this life – lusts, anger, selfish ambition, pride. But they could just as easily represent the good things of this life – things that are not sinful in themselves, but can become a distraction from spiritual things.

You see, the Crane in the story had no interest in the heavenly things the Swan was describing. He just wanted his snails! And many people are like that. It’s not that they are opposed to religion, it’s just that they are not that interested. They are far more concerned about making more money, or attaining that perfect toned body, or finding the right life-partner.

 

There are many good things in life: good food, the world of nature, music, hobbies, sport, art, fine clothes, sexual love within marriage. All these things are good, as long as they don’t become idols.

Are you looking for snails and ignoring the eternal things? God has created you to love him and to worship him forever. Are you fulfilling the purpose of your creation?

 

In our reading from Mark’s Gospel a rich young man come to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life (that is: how to go to heaven). Jesus challenged that young man about his love of wealth. For that man, his possessions were a god. And he was not willing to give them up, even if it would bring him treasure in heaven. Jesus didn’t tell every one of his followers to sell all they had and give it to the poor, but he did tell that young man, because for him money was his god.

 

Only passing through

All the wealth of this world is a tawdry bauble compared to the riches of heaven. And we were created for heaven. So we really don’t want to accumulate too much wealth, it will only tie us down.

An American tourist visited the 19th century Polish rabbi, Hofetz Chaim:

Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?”

“Where is yours?” replied the rabbi.

“Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “But I’m a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said the rabbi.

 

The life of the world to come

 We know very little about heaven, but it has been aptly described as “an unknown region with a well-known inhabitant.”

 A dying man asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and then he had his answer. “Do you hear that?” he asked his patient. “It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn’t it the same with you? You don’t know what lies beyond the door, but you know that your Master is there.”

Jesus is there: that is the most important thing!

 

Materialistic ideas of the afterlife

 In ancient times people often took a very material view of heaven. For the ancient Celts it was a place of abundance and feasting. And the Norse warriors hoped to be able to fight all day and feast all night, for all eternity in Valhalla.

 In the Koran also, Paradise is described in physical terms:

Therein they shall recline upon couches, therein they shall see neither sun nor bitter cold. Near them shall be its shades, and its clusters hung meekly down, and there shall be passed around them vessels of silver, and goblets of crystal, crystal of silver that they have measured very exactly. And therein they shall be given to drink a cup whose mixture is ginger, therein a fountain whose name is called Salsabil. ….

…. and such fruits as they shall choose, and such flesh of fowl as they desire, and wide-eyed houris as the likeness of hidden pearls, a recompense for that they laboured. Therein they shall hear no idle talk, no cause of sin, only the saying, “Peace, Peace!”

 

This is very different from the Christian view of the afterlife. It is true that the book of Revelation does describe a world in which there is no sorrow or pain or suffering. But it is not expressed in such physical terms as in the Koran. And it is understood that the imagery is metaphorical and symbolic.

 

 “I don’t want to go to heaven!”

 But many people today also seem to have a very physical view of paradise – and not just Muslims. “I don’t want to go to heaven”, they say. “Imagine standing around for all eternity strumming a harp in a long white robe. I’m not even musical – I don’t want to play a harp!”

 But the harp is an instrument of praise. In the book of Revelation it symbolizes the fact that we shall praise God for ever. We shall be taken up with him, in the words of Charles Wesley: “lost in wonder love and praise” .

As for the white robes: they represent the righteousness of the saints. There will be no sin or evil-doing in that heavenly kingdom.

 Again someone might point to these verses:

Outside are the dogs, those who practise magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.

(Revelation 22:15)

 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

(Revelation 21:1)

 No dogs! No sea! As one who loves both dogs and the seaside I sincerely hope this is not literally true! But of course, the life of eternity is not just going to be a glorified version of this one. I don’t know whether dogs will be there, or the sea, but I do know that all the joy I have experienced in these things will be there in heaven.

 Moreover when he says “dogs” the writer is not using the word literally. The apostle John uses the word as a term of abuse – as a synonym for evil-doers.

And likewise when he uses the word “sea”. To the Hebrew way of thinking, the sea was a place of turmoil and chaos. It was also a cause of separation. If someone went across the sea they were far away. You might never see them again. So “there was no longer any sea,” could mean “there will be no more separation” or “there will be no more turmoil or chaos in that heavenly realm”.

  

Jesus is there

 But let’s go back to the quote earlier: Heaven: an unknown region with a well-known inhabitant. i.e Jesus

 Or in the words of the children’s chorus:

Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace,

I’ m going to see my Saviour’s face. O heaven is a wonderful place.

 The Lord Jesus is there in his risen, glorified body. We also shall be glorified and the circumstances we shall enjoy in that heavenly realm are beyond imagining.

 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)

 God made us for himself, and we find no full satisfaction in this life. C S Lewis, in his autobiography “Surprised by joy”, tells how, as a child, he would at times experience a sense of joy. Just a glimpse, it seemed, of some greater world. As he went on in life he sought to fulfill these yearnings for joy – through learning and, study, though relationships, though pleasures. None of these things fully satisfied. He found no fulfillment in the things of this world. Eventually he found the answer in Jesus Christ. Then he realized that these episodes of joy had been yearnings for the heavenly kingdom.

 It’s not “pie in the sky when you die”, no, rather, it is as we say in the Confession of Faith: “The chief end of Man is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever”.

  

Conclusion

 When we get to that glorious kingdom there shall be no barriers then. We shall be sinless, we shall not be distracted by worldly charms. We shall be taken up with glorifying and enjoying our God and Creator. And we shall be united with all those who have ever lived and who love God.

 All there shall be like the Swan in the story. But what of the Cranes who prefer to search for snails among the slimy pondweed? There will be no place for them in heaven because they have no desire to be there. They do not love God nor do they want to be with him forever.

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