|
“God’s
Children”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Luke 20:27-38
“Indeed
they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children
of God, being children of the resurrection.”
DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS Jesus speaks the truth to us, teaching us, at
the very center of our souls. Throughout
the gospels, he is shown to quiet people down in contemplative thoughts
after he has taught them at the deepest levels they have ever
experienced. And at the
same time, the learning would be described as finally hearing words that
express what was already believed but never actually articulated within.
Jesus’ teachings are not some long information type lectures; nor are
they legalistic, scientific, symbolical and logical proofs of his word
oriented theories. He
speaks words that come from the Truth and return to the Truth, in the
Truth. He, Jesus, is the
Truth in and of our lives. And
when he teaches us the greatest light turns on.
“All scripture is inspired by
God, and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be
proficient, equipped for every good work.” (1Tim 3:16)
All scripture is inspired by God, and sometimes God speaks through
preaching. They both may be
used by God as a form of God’s Word at times.
But, neither one of them are the Word in the same sense that
Jesus is. Jesus is the Word of God.
So, when we feel, think, or sense God speaking to us, touching
us, that is Christ present with us.
Christ is God’s Word.
God is God’s Word. God’s
Word is not just some gift that God hands out to us.
God is God’s Word.
These Sadducees, confronting Jesus, were thinking that their reasoning
was more logical than his. They
were religious leaders, educated regarding the Hebrew Bible, and because
of their belief system, they did not believe there was a resurrection.
Also, one of my professors taught us that one had to be married
to become a Sadducee. And,
obviously, their being logic, with regards to marriage, influenced them
on an eternal life opinion. They
probably considered their wives as a possession. And not believing in eternal life helped them defend
themselves in their legal understanding of certain Hebrew Bible words.
We do not have a complete comprehension of the eternal life, following
our world in these times. Even
Jesus did not know, then, when the second coming is going to be. And we do not actually know whether he does now.
I personally think he does, but I don’t know that.
We all have lots of thoughts and questions about spirituality, when it
comes to the new life. Is
my grandmother able to be with me here and now?
Will she look the same to me as she always did?
Will my students love algebra in heaven? (smile)
I tell them they will!! (smile)
A couple of months ago I had a lunch with a colleague friend of mine.
We had a wonderful time, very spiritually inspiring to me.
I thanked him so much for all he gave to me.
And then I said something like, “In heaven we will both
remember this conversation.” He
said, “I don’t know.” And,
that was actually right; we really do not know precisely what will be,
even in our memories, in heaven.
The New Testament does refer to the new heavens and the new earth, and
Jesus, in these words is recorded as speaking about “…a
place in that age.”
In the new age, of eternity, because there is no death, or end of
life, there will be no weddings or children given to be married, as they
were in Jesus’ time. But,
that does not mean that we will not know our spouses, as our spouses, in
God’s new heaven and earth.
Without sin and without death, it is a little challenging to imagine the
resurrected life. Here and
now we see through some dark colored windows; but the time will come,
where in Christ we will see just as he does, through his new eyes.
Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead in a new human body. Yes,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were brought back to life.
But, I believe they will be united to their eternal human bodies
when we are, at the second coming of Christ.
Still, isn’t it wonderful to know that in eternal life, we will still
be human? And, not only
will we be human, but God is human in Jesus Christ, and we are all
God’s children for eternity.
The confidence in being who we really are as human beings is every bit
as important as our religious activities, which I love.
I love worship; I love prayer; I love the Bible; I love serving
others. And, we all do in
some way.
In the new heavens and the new earth, we will all be sisters and
brothers of Christ, in the divine family.
Church in eternity will be the family of God.
We will worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. We will have
fellowship with them and with each other.
And what we will enjoy more than anything else will be to have
eternal lives in resurrected humanity.
I think this is a wonderful message that we have to offer to people in
this world. Come to church,
yes! Love God, yes! Pray for your needs, yes!
But, all this is not some way to make you right with God.
God has made you right with Him in Jesus Christ.
Love your humanity. Do you
love to cook? Then know
that when you are blessing others with your cooking; you are doing it
with Christ.
Do you love dancing? I told
you last Sunday that one of the first images of the Triune God was the
picture of three persons holding hands and dancing.
Jesus was a carpenter for 15 to 20 years before he was led by the Spirit
into his ministry. You
know, he may have made more tables than he did preach sermons.
And he loved it.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had some people who had not been active
in the faith for a while, and when they came to church, they were looked
right in the eyes, found out that they loved fishing, and were then told
that when they loved their fishing, they were doing it with Jesus
Christ. That is why they love it.
Jesus teaches us at a newly deep level all throughout our lives.
We are astounded at his teaching.
You are the soul of your body, and your soul has already been
adopted into the family of God and your body will be resurrected into
the new heavens and new earth, where you will love being human in loving
fellowship with God the Father.
Let us pray…
Amen
|