"...for Eternity we are growing in the realization that we need God for everything, and yet in that neediness we are fully and abundantly satisfied in all he provides." – Kyle Strobel, formed for the glory of God page 97
Note the tension of continued growth while experiencing complete satisfaction at the same time. How does this occur? Strobel explains our capacity for experiencing God in all his love is always expanding both now and throughout eternity while at the same time that capacity is always full once we go into eternity.
If our capacity when we enter heaven is a thimble, over time we stretch into a cup then a small bowl, than a bigger bowl and so on while always being full during the whole process. To say it more practically, there will never be a dull moment throughout all eternity. Things will always be progressing. Hard to grasp but exciting to know.
So the question becomes how much do we wish to experience of him when we leave this world?
It begins now...by faith
Mat 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Luk 6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
Luk 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
1Co 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor (labor inspired or driven by God's Spirit in us vs labor performed by mere will power i.e. the labor of faith verses the labor of performance).
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*It is not that we do not experience any evidence of this love now in the form of tangible manifestations (provision of material needs etc), but these are merely a drop in the bucket and given to create in us even deeper trust and aid us in advancing his purposes further i.e. we can not depend on these as proof of God's love (in this world you will have trouble) for they will ebb and flow. The completed work of Christ to restore us to the Father in the fullness of his love is our primary proof of the greatness of that love. This is a past historical event with ongoing and expanding benefits both now and throughout eternity.
Note the tension of continued growth while experiencing complete satisfaction at the same time. How does this occur? Strobel explains our capacity for experiencing God in all his love is always expanding both now and throughout eternity while at the same time that capacity is always full once we go into eternity.
If our capacity when we enter heaven is a thimble, over time we stretch into a cup then a small bowl, than a bigger bowl and so on while always being full during the whole process. To say it more practically, there will never be a dull moment throughout all eternity. Things will always be progressing. Hard to grasp but exciting to know.
So the question becomes how much do we wish to experience of him when we leave this world?
It begins now...by faith
The same realization of our need for God starts in this life at our new (spiritual) birth, while continuing and progressing on throughout eternity.
Whatever satisfaction we find now however occurs by faith (the Spirit of God, given at our spiritual birth who now indwells us, is our guarantee of better things to come). Satisfaction will continue in the next life but then it will occur directly by firsthand sight/experience instead of by faith i.e. Our satisfaction in this life is by faith but will be by direct experience (face to face) in the *next life. And because it is direct it will also be full, uninterrupted and complete.
What we strive for in this life is greater faith so that we might have a greater view and experience of God now but also so we will have an even greater capacity for joy in eternity.
What we strive for in this life is greater faith so that we might have a greater view and experience of God now but also so we will have an even greater capacity for joy in eternity.
Scripture indicates our experience of God in the next life will be in proportion to how much we learn to trust him here and now i.e. How much we learn to live by faith. This is our greatest Reward i.e. God himself!
In eternity our experience of God will be direct and by sight (face to face), not by faith (not through a glass darkly).
The degree to which we realize our dependence on God in this life is the degree to which we will experience the fullness of God in the next life.
The essence of our reward in eternity is gained by faith and determined by the extent that faith grows in this life. God himself and the depth of our relationship with him, determining the degree of our reward i.e. our experience of him in all his fullness.
Mat 5:11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Luk 6:23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
1Co 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor (labor inspired or driven by God's Spirit in us vs labor performed by mere will power i.e. the labor of faith verses the labor of performance).
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*It is not that we do not experience any evidence of this love now in the form of tangible manifestations (provision of material needs etc), but these are merely a drop in the bucket and given to create in us even deeper trust and aid us in advancing his purposes further i.e. we can not depend on these as proof of God's love (in this world you will have trouble) for they will ebb and flow. The completed work of Christ to restore us to the Father in the fullness of his love is our primary proof of the greatness of that love. This is a past historical event with ongoing and expanding benefits both now and throughout eternity.
