“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.”
– C.S. Lewis
This morning in Fall Avoidance, I had a believer in each class that was grateful for the same thing:
One day we will have new bodies.
One of my ladies has an incredibly crooked back. By the end of the day she just aches. She also has the best attitude of anyone I know. When I challenged her to try to stand up straighter on the exercise we were doing, she did. She added, “Have I had you feel with your hand how crooked my back is?” When I assured her I had before, and when I said, “One day your spine will be straight again,” she smiled. Sometimes that’s the hope we have to hold onto. No amount of therapy will fix it in this life. But you know what she said?
“But I’m grateful for the body my mom gave me in this life. It’s strong and mostly healthy and has allowed me to do many things.”
Such a great attitude. In the midst of the daily ache, she is grateful.
In the second class, it was the kind man whose pastor had him sit in on VBS as a new believer that related to this desire of a new body. He has esophagus issues that require scopes once a year. He also has liver disease, though he never drank alcohol. His theory is all the chemicals that were absorbed through his skin while working at Cessna before OSHA came into being.
Once in a while, he gets down for the count for a few days to a few weeks. He just has to sleep it off and his wife serves him.
“Paul wrote to the Corinthians, ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…[and] we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor. 15:17, 19).
They physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of redemption – both for mankind and for the earth. Indeed, without Christ’s resurrection and what it means – an eternal future for fully restored human beings dwelling on a fully restored Earth – there is no Christianity…
The nail prints in Christ’s hands and feet are the strongest possible affirmation that the same earthly body that was crucified is now the same heavenly body that was raised. ‘It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have’ (Luke 24:39).
There will be continuity from this life to the next. I will be able to say with Job, ‘In my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another’ (Job 19:26-27)…
Despite the radical changes that occur through salvation, death and resurrection, we remain who we are. We have the same history, appearance, memory, interests and skills. This is the principle of redemptive continuity. God will not scrap his original creation and start over. Instead, he will take his fallen, corrupted children and restore, refresh, and renew us to our original design…
Many of us look forward to Heaven more now than we did when our bodies functioned well. Joni Eareckson Tada says it well:
‘Somewhere in my broken, paralyzed body is the seed of what I shall become. The paralysis makes what I am to become all the more grand when you contrast atrophied, useless legs against splendorous resurrected legs. I’m convinced that if there are mirrors in heaven (and why not?), the image I’ll see will be unmistakably ‘Joni,’ although a much better, brighter Joni.’
Inside your body, even if it is failing, is the blueprint for your resurrection body. You may not be satisfied with your current body or mind – but you’ll be thrilled with your resurrection upgrades. With them you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders he has prepared for you.”
Alcorn, Heaven, pgs. 111, 114, 120, 124