“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heart, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In reading Richard Wurmbrand’s book Tortured for Christ, I came across an interesting argument that a Christian used against the atheism of a communist oppressor. If man were just matter, as the communists claimed, why then do his thoughts and character continue to develop in life, even as his body grows weaker and decays? Surely, man is being prepared for something more than this life.
As an analogy, the Christian cited a baby in the womb. His little world is all that he has known, but if he were thoughtful enough, he could wonder why legs and arms were developing with no apparent use, and why lungs were developing in the midst of a watery world. Surely, the baby in the womb is developing limbs and lungs for another world.
Christian, from the Scripture cited above, it is very apparent that we have by nature no clue what awaits us in heaven with Christ. Neither empirical research with the eye and ear, nor philosophical speculation with the heart, can penetrate into the mind of God to see what He has prepared for us who love Him. As the baby in the womb, we may think that this existence is normal, and that a future existence outside will pretty much resemble this one inside–except that it will be to the fullest degree, and without any sin or pain. In reality, we live in a cramped and dark world, developing our spiritual limbs and lungs for the World to Come, which Jesus called “The Regeneration,” the New Birth (Matthew 19:28).
And like the baby in the womb, the only certain knowledge we have of a greater and better reality is the voice from without. For the baby, it is the voice of his mother. For us, it is the word of God, speaking to us by the Holy Spirit from deep within the mind of God Himself. Right after saying how both inductive and deductive research fail to ascertain the good things to come, Paul asserts:
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God…. Now we have received…the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:10-13).
In the womb of Eternity. That is where we live.
How long, we ask, until the birth? All creation groans with birth pangs.
Spring Branch Academy - Jonesville, Michigan 