“I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for and confidently expect the LORD.” (Psalm 27:13-14 AMP)
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12 NIV)
“I am standing in absolute stillness, silent before the one I love, waiting as long
as it takes for him to rescue me. Only God is my Savior, and he will not fail me. For he alone is my safe place. His wraparound presence always protects me as my champion defender. There’s no risk of failure with God! So why would I let worry paralyze me, even when troubles multiply around me? God’s glory is all around me! His wraparound presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my hero, and my life-giving strength. Trust only in God every moment! Tell him all your troubles and pour out your heart-longings to him. Believe me when I tell you—he will help you!” (Psalm 62:5-8 TPT)
Before I continue answering the first question that the Holy Spirit asked me (”What is your life expectancy Eric?”) I want to share what I have been asking the Holy Spirit…
…”If the purpose and goal of being a son of God is to die and go to heaven, then why are you telling me that my Father’s desire is that I live a strong long life here on earth with no expectation of debilitating aging or death? And why on earth am I being asked to stick my neck out and share this message with others?”
As far back as I can remember I have been flooded with the message that as a “Christian” this life that I am currently living is of little or no value in comparison to heaven. I have sung songs telling me that this world is not my home. I have heard sermon after sermon trying to convince me that if I am not longing to leave this earth for heaven there is something lacking in my walk with the Lord. I have been indoctrinated with the message that I am to prioritize going to heaven over everything else (and the sooner the better). And yet, the Apostle Paul after his mind blowing visit to heaven chose to stay here. Even though he experienced Glory to such a degree that he was not allowed to speak of it, he prioritized staying on planet earth over escaping to heaven.
For the first 34 years of my life I was bombarded with the message that “eternal life,” and the best of what the Kingdom of Heaven has to offer, becomes accessible after I go through the grave. Praise the Lord that for the last 30 years I have been a member of a group of believers that realize that “eternal life” begins at the rebirth. However, that initial training has been very difficult to shake. I still find myself at times hindered and limited by this narrow view of the Kingdom. Sadly, I am surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ, who like my first 34 years, have been taught to simply accept things as they are (we call that being content) until we depart from this life and enter into the next. We have been challenged to “hold on” and “hold out” for heaven.
We have been led to believe that the “natural” elements of life (especially aging and death) are inevitable for everyone. The common perspective is that entering into a relationship with Jesus will place me in a position in which my sins have been forgiven therefore I will be able to go to heaven one day. That is called “salvation.” Sadly, for many that is the limit of what is truly expected to be the result of following Jesus. In varying degrees there is hope (a wish) for more today (like the possibility – but not a high degree of probability – of things like freedom from sin, sickness, death or renewed youth, abundant provision, etc.), but very few dare to actually expect more. It is as if God is tightly holding on to all of the “good stuff” which he is reserving for heaven. From time to time he will share a crumb or two, but if I really want to experience his best then I had better buckle down and hold out for heaven.
It is eye opening to realize that Jesus did not focus on getting people to heaven. He focused on bringing heaven to earth. The foundation of everything that he said and did was that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our hearts and in our hands. He did not cut people’s lives short in order to help them escape the hardships they were experiencing. He didn’t add difficulties to their lives to teach or mature them. He didn’t tell them to accept their issues until they stepped into heaven. He met the need, delivered from the situation, healed bodies, and set captives free. He brought the resources of heaven to those in need in order to fulfill his Father’s desire for his children to experience “length of days” (quality of life) and “long life” (quantity/length of life) here and now. Jesus preached and demonstrated the Gospel of the Kingdom – a kingdom that he said was “at hand.”
The Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached, and the Gospel of Grace that the Apostle Paul taught, were the same Gospel. Both of them emphasized life today. Neither of them focused on saying a prayer to have your sins forgiven to avoid hell and go to heaven. They were about bringing the manifest presence of God (the Kingdom) into my life today. If I die, I may temporarily move in with my Father in his heavenly home as this current age is completed. However, at some point I will return to earth with my brother Jesus and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ to rule and reign in our Father’s eternal Kingdom. It has always been my Father’s plan to come here and dwell with me, not take me to heaven to permanently dwell with him there.
I have not yet received a direct answer from the Spirit to my question, but he has opened my eyes to clearly reveal that “going to heaven” is not the primary purpose for following Jesus. I will say it again, heaven is my Father’s eternal dwelling place, not mine. It is my Father’s plan to come here and dwell with me, not take me to heaven to dwell with him. That is clearly revealed in the book of Genesis when God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. It is also clearly seen at the end of the book of Revelation when he once again comes here to dwell among his people.
As I wait for a more direct answer from the Holy Spirit, I will continue to expect to live a strong long life worth living, without limit or end, with nothing missing or broken; knowing that I was designed to live a life filled with purity, passion, power, and purpose; regardless of my current age or condition.
There is definitely much to pray about with…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 421: Grace Expectations – Life Expectancy Kingdom Style: Part 3