I really liked today’s study. In his introduction, Selwyn writes; “Our courage for the journey often falters because we’ve lost our hope of heaven – the consummation of the love story that started long ago in eternity when God predestined us to be His own.” (Eph. 1:4). Yet, in a way, our loss of hope in heaven is due to the fact that we’ve taken our eyes off Jesus. We have become more focused on our situation; the people, things and events which pre-occupy us – in our everyday lives.
One of the characteristics of a person looking towards heaven, is their constant prayer, ‘Come Lord Jesus, come.’
Selwyn has selected, Philippians 3:12–21, for reading and meditation: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ …” (v.20) Perhaps, we have become so focused on the ‘here and now’, that our eagerness in waiting for Jesus, has faded somewhat – do you agree?
The hope of heaven, is the driving force which motivates us to cry out to God for His help when we feel lost. God’s love is such, that He will always help us, through various means to restore our hope in Him.
Selwyn captures the main theme of this study with this statement: ” … that one reason why God may take us into the desert is to whet our appetite for home. Scripture, as we saw, teaches us that we cannot live without hope. Faith and love, we are told, ‘spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven’ (Col. 1:5).
Western culture is so focused on what’s happening ‘now‘; media and social networking technology constantly stream live updates into our environments – informing us of what’s happening at that moment. Superficial – one line statements – that grab 30 seconds of our time which often leave us exhausted and distract us away from the main focus of our spiritual journey. Is it any wonder, that we are losing the ability to focus on important issues – that we are losing the ability to maintain our focus on our Lord’s return? The question then remains – are you prepared for His return? Is your hope in heaven – alive and growing?