All posts tagged Heaven

C.S. Lewis on Being Alone with God

by brad on March 11, 2013 in Counseling Reflection with 1 Comment

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“One soul in the whole creation you do know: and it is the only one whose fate is placed in your hands. If there is a God, you are, in a sense, alone with Him (p. 217).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

lewis“If so-and-so is going to heaven, then I’m sure to get in… I have to be better than 49% of the population. After all, there are a lot of bad people in the world and I’m not one of them.” These are the kinds of statements that we use to try to draw a crowd between us and God. Yet this is not how our fate with God will be determined.

Imagine it as one of the modern talent reality shows. Contestants compete amongst their peers for weeks, but when they learn if they make it into the “Top 10” they walk before the judges by themselves. They watch excerpts of their performances with no one else on the stage.

As they stand before the judges, there is no one else to point at. There are no fans to cheer or boo in order to sway the judges’ opinions. They are alone as they learn their fate.

That is a loose metaphor of our judgment experience before God. Read again II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one [singular] may receive what is due for what he [or she] has done in the body, whether good or bad.”

This moment will either be our return to Eden, where we feel completely exposed and unashamed because we are covered in the righteousness of Christ (Gen. 2:25, Phil. 3:9), or we will have the sentence of expulsion (Gen. 3:22-24) from God’s presence finalized because we cling to our comparative excuses.

Either way, we will feel very alone with God; for better or worse, blessing or curse, accepted or rejected.

Yet in that very-alone-moment one of two things will happen. Either that will be the last alone moment you ever feel as you are welcomed into eternal community, or it will become the beginning of eternal isolation and pain as your choice to reject God is made permanent.

We quickly realized that God removed everyone from that moment not for intimidation or dramatic effect, but to highlight that eternity is decided between He and each individual. A child only fears an invitation to speak with a parent alone if he or she has done something wrong. When the relationship is right, there is more reason to expect a treat than a punishment at an invitation for personal time together.

The fact that we fear being alone with God reveals our guilt and need for Christ. If you’ve read to this point in Mere Christianity, then you would know that Lewis is not making a threat – “Just wait until you get to Heaven’s gate, you’re going to be alone with God then and get what you deserve.”

The point is to make a final appeal to his reader who might still believe that our comparative logic might be enough to persuade God. Our comparative logic is as satisfying to God as re-gifting a broken and poorly repaired present someone gave you last Christmas to the same person. It was theirs to begin with and in better condition when they gave it to you.

The whole point of heaven is that we are welcome in God’s presence. Being alone with God is merely the first course of the unhindered access to God we’ll enjoy for eternity.

C.S. Lewis on Death Treatment

by brad on January 28, 2013 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“The change will not be completed in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain (p. 207).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

lewisWhile teaching a seminar on grief, I was struck by the reality “we were not made for this world” but with almost everything we do assumes we were. Trying to make sense of death from the vantage point of earth is like trying to make sense of puberty from that vantage point of adolescence.

Children do not have a category for the changes of puberty because they have not experienced adulthood to know why those changes are needed. If they did know, then it would remove the innocence that makes childhood special and disrupt healthy maturation.

Similarly, we do not have a category for the changes of death because we have not experienced heaven to know why the process of living-and-dying is needed. I would assume (because a loving God has chosen not to disclose this information), such knowledge would be as harmful to us as early sexualization is for a child.

Lewis’ quote brought this reality to my mind again – death is part of what God is doing in our life. The process of losing loved ones and facing our own mortality has developmental (i.e., sanctification) benefit as we pass from a fallen world to a perfect heaven.

Not only that, the innocence of knowing what all of those benefits will be is itself beneficial for our ability to enjoy heaven.

Consider where sin began. Adam and Eve wanted to be able to know (i.e., define) good and evil for themselves (Gen. 3:5). They did not want to trust God in a perfect environment. They wanted to know if they could make it better. That form of contentment we call trust was underdeveloped in their pristine environment.

Even now that same character quality is weak in us as we wonder how we will be entertained in heaven for eternity without sin or anything “bad” (admit it, you’ve asked that question too). We need to face the consequences of this discontentment before we will be able to enjoy the blessing God has in store.

Death is the resounding revelation that our trying to “find life” always results in huge losses (Luke 9:24). Jesus said we must be willing to lose our life if we want to really find life. Any honest person will admit that is a lesson humans do not learn easily.

That is why I’m grateful for the validity of Lewis’ second statement. That lesson will not be fully learned before we die. My salvation is not dependant upon me finally “getting it” (i.e., abiding in perfect contentment). Rather this life is about me learning to trust God enough to “want it” and placing my faith in the way God has decided to provide it – through the gospel.

When that happens, death has served its purpose. It has made sure that the residents of “the New Heaven” (Rev. 21:1) do not have the same ignorance of contentment’s great value that resulted in the rebellion of the original heaven and earth.

C.S. Lewis on “Out of this World” Pleasures

by brad on March 5, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with 2 Comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“The Christian says, ‘Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world.’ (p. 136-137).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I simultaneously love this quote and fear for its misuse. On the one hand, it has great apologetic value for a culture that seeks to find meaning through pleasure. On the other hand, it stands to be misused to justify even sinful desires. In this reflection we’ll consider the danger before the benefit.

Why couldn’t the pedophile, kleptomaniac, homosexual, workaholic, or love-struck promiscuous teenager use this logic to justify the legitimacy of their desires? They feel attractive, compulsion, and strong desire. There is such a thing as sex, stuff, and success. If what I want is in this world, why does heaven require waiting, denying myself, or sacrifice?

I believe it is insufficient to merely reassert biblical morals in response to this question (i.e., “Because the Bible says those things are bad.”). The person asking this question is questioning the Bible, so our point of authority has a shrinking authority to them. Imposing that authority to support the Bible’s authority hurts our cause in that context.

What must be seen by the person asking the question is that each of those pleasures – even marriage, godly sex, and balanced work – are temporal fills for eternal longings. Even the godly alternatives for any given sin were not meant to replace God or become “our personal heaven.” Too often we teach ethics, especially to young people, as if that were the case.

When the point is made this way, life will eventually validate the claims of Scripture. This is most commonly referred to as “the mid-life crisis.” A time when we painfully and disorient-ly realize that what we built our life and hopes on was insufficient for the task. It cannot last, give joy or meaning.

It is at this point, even if someone else waters and harvests the seed that we planted, that the sin-wooed questioner will have ears to hear the gospel. We can pray it is earlier, but how many of us came to the gospel “the easy way”?

Lewis is making an appeal to those who are dissatisfied with their pleasures. Other polemics are needed for those who still believe this world (sinful or not) can provide what they really want. But when we have lived our own version of the book of Ecclesiastes (a great read in light of this quote), we will be ripe for Lewis’ logic.

One (by no means the only) ways that we share the gospel is be being friendly people who hold this world’s pleasures in a balanced perspective. Christians should be people who enjoy this world (it’s non-sinful pleasures) without being ruled by them. This temperance will be noticed and admired (even if that admiration is initially expressed through mocking).

If we are engaging meaningfully in the lives of our non-Christian friends, the question will come up, “How do you live so free? How do you avoid getting caught up, disappointed, and hurt like I do?” We can then “speak” what would have had to have been “debated” before, “I learned that this world’s pleasures were meant to point me to something greater and that helps to keeps everything in perspective.”

C.S. Lewis on Being Too Heavenly Minded

by brad on February 27, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither (p. 134).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Who saves more money: the person who thinks of retirement or the person who ignores it? Who does better on a performance evaluation: the person who thinks of the boss’s expectations or the person who doesn’t?

Who changes the world: the person who believes what he/she does has eternal significance or the person who thinks “you only go around once, so why not enjoy it”? The parallels are not exact, but  the principle the same – if you think what you are doing matters for something, then you do a better job of it.

The question eternity forces us to ask is, “Does life matter?” If we are temporal creatures who live, die, and decay, then the answer is no. If we are eternal creatures whose earthly life sets our eternal destiny, then the answer is a resounding YES!

It quickly becomes evident why (at least partially) modern Christians do not make a bigger difference on the world – we believe this world is all there is. We no longer live our lives as an investment in something greater than our lives.

When this happens we flip the big question of life from, “What can I do for God?” to, “What does God have to offer me?” We begin to live as if God existed to satisfy us instead of seeing that we exist to glorify God. We grade God instead of seeking to please Him.

Heaven is as important for this life as graduation is to school or a paycheck is to a job interview. Heaven provides a reference point where effort will be rewarded. Like a diploma or a paycheck, Heaven will not be something that everyone receives for “just showing up.”

This must not be taken to imply that we “earn” heaven. That would be the grandest distortion of heaven and the gospel. The point being made is that knowing (a) there is a time when people will give account, (b) that people may eternally go without, and (c) what people decide – in this case about Christ – will make the difference, compels us to live differently.

Passivity is the functional expression of disbelief in eternity. To do nothing assumes that nothing I do matters; that nothing is at stake. The only possible way that could be true is if I live for 70 years and then cease to be.

So what is the take away? Think about heaven, but not as a luxury destination or optimal retirement home. Think about heaven as the ultimate investment. Realize that heaven is what makes everything matter and then live as if life mattered. With that perspective, see how God will use you to change the world.

C.S. Lewis Meets His Murderer

by brad on December 7, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“I have often thought to myself how it would have been if, when I served in the first World War, I and some young German had killed each other simultaneously and found ourselves together a moment after death. I cannot imagine that either of us would have felt any resentment or even any embarrassment. I think we might have laughed over it (p. 119).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

It must be noted that this quote is based upon Lewis’ personal speculations and his own retrospective assessment of what his response would be in a purely hypothetical circumstance. So whatever we do with this quote, we should not treat it as doctrine.

But the quote does challenge us to consider the question, “How much difference will Heaven make for the greatest atrocities and offenses we face now?”  This is a question that runs a great risk of being misused.

Many would use a question like this to minimize the pain or significance of current suffering. There is no indication (nor would I suggest as a good idea) that Lewis used this type of question to belittle the dangers he faced in WWI. Neither would it have been of any benefit to manipulate himself into thinking, “the young German doesn’t really mean to take my life with the bullets he’s firing over my head.”

“Perspective” should never be used to craft an alternative reality. Perspective does not make danger less dangerous, evil less evil, or pain less painful.

So what good does perspective bring to suffering?

In a word – hope.

This perspective gained from the kind of reflection Lewis is engaging in reminds us that evil never gets the final or definitive word. God’s redemption is so complete that the darkest evil becomes like the awkward moment before the punch line in a really good joke.

In that moment of awkwardness, you legitimately do not know how to respond. It feels like the story is painfully incomplete or about to become offensive. Then with the punch line the size of the awkwardness only serves to accentuate the humor.

Again, it should be said, any use of “perspective” that seeks to minimize the painfully awkward moments in which we live on this side of God’s redemption, is a poor (possibly abusive or traumatic) use of perspective.

The point of perspective is to remind us that while evil may be “winning,” it cannot “win.” With this thought secured, then core aspects of personhood – hope, courage, meaning – are able to withstand the barrage of suffering.

The main lie of suffering – this is all we will ever know – is broken. It is as if an evil enchantment of mental and emotional slavery (we are dealing with C.S. Lewis, the author of Narnia) has been lifted from our soul. We remain a person who have been given personhood by the King’s authority which cannot be usurped by any invading tyrants (or German soldiers) or intrusions into our lives.

We are free children of the King, who must be reminded of who we are. When we remember, and even more when we enter His kingdom, the threats of this world will be like silly jokes. But again, that should give us hope, not cause us to minimize the threats of this world.

Choices Turn the Central Part of You

by brad on July 18, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with 2 Comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature.  (p. 92).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Does this quote amount to anything more than “our choices add up”?  If that is all that Lewis is saying, then it’s a poetic duh-statement. But I believe Lewis is saying more than bad choices add up to a bad life.

Our choices reveal where we are preparing to live. But his preparation is less overt than we would like to think. When we enjoy something we are (in effect) declaring it “heavenly.” If the thing we enjoy (as we enjoy) resembles something heavenly, our soul is slowly transforming into a character than could enjoy heaven.

However, if the thing we enjoy (or the way we enjoy it) does not resemble heaven, then we have created a counterfeit heaven. There is only one name for such a place – Hell. If our soul is having its tastes shaped to enjoy a counterfeit heaven, then our inner person is becoming more suited for Hell than heaven. At the end of our days, God would merely be giving us what we wanted all our lives.

We don’t think of day-to-day choices this way. We might think of a choice to have an affair, dismantle our children’s world, and leave the church this way. Or, we might think of a choice to use hard drugs, waste our life savings, and become physically-financially dependant that way. But that is only when we face these choices hypothetically or see them played out in the life of others.

If we truly were making these choices, we would be convinced of their happiness, necessity, or our ability to make these choices while remaining “the same person.” We would view ourselves as being in control – the opposite of changing. It would only be the reactionary and judgmental people around us who changed.

As we read this, we should be afraid. It makes me uncomfortable to write it. The pattern has been played out in too many lives for us to be the exception. Yet it does not take a “big” life-changing sin to have this influence.

If Lewis is correct, every choice is slowly turning the central part of our soul towards Heaven or Hell. Our life is lived on such a grand stage every day that we have grown immune to the importance of what we relate to as “mundane.” We are worse than the athlete who grows bored with playing in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans while making millions of dollars.

The point of this reflection is not to paralyze us in fear, but to wake us up to reality. Nothing that has been said makes reality more real. More than that, God is for us. God is not waiting to catch us in a mistake. He wants to be known and for us to enjoy knowing Him.

The goal is to disrupt the malaise of boredom that comes when we think our daily choices don’t matter. Simple choices made to love God and love others matter immensely. They are what God uses to change the world and to change us. Realizing this, let us give ourselves fully to the full breadth of choices we will make today (significant and, seemingly, insignificant).

What Makes Heaven, Heavenly?

by brad on May 9, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with 1 Comment

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“The point is not that God will refuse you admission to His eternal world if you have not got certain qualities of character: the point is that if people have not got at least the beginnings of those qualities inside them, then no possible external conditions could make a ‘Heaven’ for them – that is, could make them happy with the deep, strong, un-shakable kind of happiness God intends for you (p. 81).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Am I prepared to enjoy Heaven? When I take away the presumed “yes,” then this question is quite startling. I might be the kind of person for whom Heaven would be miserable or, at best, boring. Heaven might be an acquired taste that only those who have been transformed by God can enjoy.

Considering this question for a moment has made me realize how self-centeredly I have thought about Heaven. Honestly, I have always thought of it as my Heaven more than God’s Heaven. I thought of it as an eternal playground built for my preferences and specifications. I thought of it as a place where “my will be done” was the guiding force.

Unless that changes, my Heaven might actually be Hell (C.S. Lewis fully develops this theme in his book The Great Divorce). Unless my way of thinking were renewed ,then my dreams come true would be so inherently contradictory, consuming, exhausting, disappointing, or otherwise damaging that if I had to live with them for eternity it would be torturous.

This reveals another dimension of my depravity: I am unable to enduringly desire and enjoy God’s goodness apart from His grace. This should humble me greatly, but not necessarily in the sense of shame (which is not really humility at all). It should humble me when I disgruntedly try to tell God He has not been good.

Discontentment is predicated on the assumption that I know (or get to define) what is truly good. If C.S. Lewis is right about Heaven, then discontentment is not only wrong but foolish. I am much more like my 4 year old who wants to only eat marshmallows for every meal than I cared to admit. I think I know what happiness (Heaven) is and am offended by anyone (even God) who would tell me differently.

If I truly believed this, I would pray differently. I would ask more questions and seek more guidance while making fewer petitions. Not that petitions are bad, but my petition-to-question ratio displays a confidence that I know what I am asking for and how it should be defined.

I pray, “Lord, help me lead a healthy family” assuming I know what “good” is and what “lead” means. It might do me more good (in terms of refining my character, not altering God’s willingness to answer) to pray, “Lord, show me more of what a good family is and how you would have a husband to lead one.” With that prayer, I am allowing God to define Heaven and lead me into it rather than verbally drawing the dots and asking God to connect them.

This view of Heaven excites me more than my previous perspective. This understanding reveals how Heaven can truly be “better than I imagined” because my imagination is not yet prepared to ask for Heaven. But as God continues to refine me I will see more clearly through a dim glass and those things that I want will be in line with the eternally satisfying place God has prepared for His children.

 
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