Free Will in the New Earth

As Christians, our understanding from the teachings that have been passed on and from our Scriptures, the Bible, is that the new heaven and the new earth after the resurrection will be perfect places. We have also been taught through these same sources that the original creation was likely perfect, as God seems to have pronounced all of it good.

How this perfect creation then became so utterly marred is something we can see evidence of all around us. How that could happen to begin with is another story. So, who is to say that in the new heaven and new earth post-resurrection, which we often refer to as heaven, and this is one of those questions that one is sometimes hesitant to ask, the same thing could not happen again?

We were talking about these things in our LIFE Group yesterday evening when an answer to my question dawned on me. Thinking about it again this morning, I think it must have been a flash of insight implanted by the Holy Spirit.

Again, we are taught, and learn to know from our own experience as believers, that God is love. As imperfect as our experience and understanding of love is, we have now in our vocabulary something we understand as “unconditional” love. Like all good things, we believe this originates in the love of God, whom we believe created all things.

Most of us are fortunate enough to experience some of this love in one way or the other in our short pilgrimages on this earth. We know how wonderful that is. But what we experience here will pale in comparison, and we can only imagine what this would be like, to what we will experience when we are actually in the presence of God and he has removed all sin. Indeed, for those of us who believe in the death and resurrection work of Christ, our sin is removed now. However, we continue to live in an imperfect body and imperfect world. Only after the resurrection will that ultimately be changed for the better.

And therein lies my answer to the question I shared in the second paragraph of this blog.

Perfect love does not force anything. Perfect love seeks a voluntary and willing response to love offered. That is our position in response to the offered love of God, most perfectly expressed in the death and resurrection of the Christ, which, as I write, we will shortly be celebrating once again in the season we now call Easter. We who believe have voluntarily submitted our will to our Creator God. The only thing that keeps us from actualizing that submission perfectly now is our imperfect body and the imperfect world we still live in. However, when we are removed from that, and that is removed from us, we will be freed of the inability to respond as perfectly in love to God as how he offers us his love.

I believe this is why there will not be another rebellion in the new heaven and earth, as there was and is in this earth. At least, that is an answer that satisfies me at present. As always in this journey, one is open to further insights.

And so this is Lent

Nope. That was not intended as the first line of a new song, even though it might have reminded some of you of one about Christmas that begins with that line.

Yes, for those of you who are aware of and follow these sorts of things, Lent has once again been with us since, this year, Valentine's day, of all things. On the one hand, that was a day to celebrate love and giving. On the other hand, as Ash Wednesday, there is also something about love and giving there, but we tend to think more about it in terms of somber preparation for a death that is remembered on Good Friday, along with a spirit of repentance and, for some, even engaging in fasting. Attending a service where you have the sign of the cross painted on your body with olive oil and ashes is not something that would make one think the next step is to go out and party. Putting ashes on one's body has been, since biblical times, a sign of sorrow, mourning and repentance.

Now, the word “Lent” simply comes from the old English words for “spring,” as that is when Lent occurs. Lent was something I am not even sure I had heard about until I was well on in my teens. Some of you who know that I grew up in a Christian family, the son of a minister in fact, might find that surprising. However, some of you will not be surprised, particularly if you are from what some would call a more conservative or right-wing branch of Christianity. That was certainly, as I look back on it now, a good deal of the flavor of Christianity with which I was brought up.

 Again, some of you might find that surprising, knowing that I come from a Mennonite background. That would be true of those of you who know that Mennonites are not conservative in many their approaches to what we believe and how we live. Others, of course, lump Mennonites right in there with all the conservative elements, based mainly on the knowledge they have of our people from the secular media, which tends to equate Mennonites with groups such as the Amish and Hutterites. We are all Anabaptists, meaning we have believed in and practiced adult baptism since the time of the 16th century Reformation, but they're much of the similarity ends.

Even so, Mennonites, traditionally, did not put much stock in some of the more formal elements of the religion that has grown up around Christianity, such as following The Church Year. This is something we associate more with what some call mainline churches, e.g. Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United.

However, again, those "in the know" and who attend certain Mennonite congregations will know that some of us have tended to adopt more liturgical practices, including observance of features of The Church Year. The congregation I became a member of over 10 years ago, is one of those. It is so because of a combination of influence from the Higher Church Mennonites who immigrated to Canada in the 1920s and subsequently, in combination with our having had a pastor who trained in an Anglican-based school, Regent College of UBC. We have seen that there are benefits to this that our ancestors, in their enthusiastic opposition to the excesses of the mainline churches of the 16th century, abandoned up with a lot of other religious accoutrements.

So, our congregation has had Ash Wednesday evening services where the ceremony mentioned above is conducted. I had never experienced this before being part of this community, and I found it quite meaningful. However, even before that, I had at times taken it upon myself to set time aside for prayer and fasting and paying more attention to The Word.

 Indeed, Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada have actually come out with resources to help one focus one's mind on higher things during the time of Lent. The key component of this is a book that came out back in 1989, Take Our Moments and Our Days. I refer particularly to Volume 2, Advent through Pentecost. Volume 1 is subtitled Ordinary Time, which refers to the time from Pentecost until Advent, in which there are no major Christian dates of commemoration or celebration. The resource branch of our conference, now known as CommonWord, also promotes materials that can be used during the special seasons for both individual and congregational benefit, including in Sunday School (the current resources can be found here https://www.commonword.ca/QuickSearch?search=Lent).

So, if you are looking for something to make these weeks leading up to and including Easter more meaningful this year, give these resources a try. Blessings upon you as you do!

Telling A Faith Story III - Waiting for a Miracle

Did you ever pray for something when you just did not know how it was going to happen if not for some divine intervention? AKA miracle. I am sure many of us have done that at one time or another. It might have been in the midst of some serious situation where we really needed help and answers. Or, if we are honest, it might have sometimes been in a situation where we could have solved the problem if we had just gone about it the right way or put some effort into it. Then again, I often find that I am struggling with something that I have not even thought to pray about.

Take a situation I have been dealing with for the better part of the past year - back pain. It's a common problem, especially as one ages, which is probably why we don't often think of it is something to really put some prayer effort into dealing with.

I have had problems intermittently with my back over the years. I think we taller people are more prone to this. In the first half of last year, when it seemed I was coming up against another exacerbation of this problem, I realized that I needed to do more about it. I had already seen a physiotherapist previously for this problem on more than one occasion and knew something of what exercises I should do to help myself. By the end of July, I had really sorted out what I thought were a good selection of exercises based on what advice I had been given professionally earlier, as well as what I found on-line. After working diligently on these for a couple of months, I thought I should check back with the physiotherapist to make sure I was working on the right set of exercises to help my problem and not cause further harm. She did help me refine them somewhat and I carried on.

However, after another five months of doing quite well by those exercises for one who generally hates that, things were not getting any better. So, I went back to see the physiotherapist. One of her first comments was, "Lorne, it's arthritis." In other words, the root of the problem is not going to go away. You have to live with it.

By this time, I had been praying for things to get better because chronic back pain is no fun. The physiotherapist was quite sure though that if she gave me a short course of laser therapy for my back, it could really help the pain. I had one or two treatments. Then, I had a busy weekend, following which I went to visit my parents for a four-day trip. During all that time, I did not do the exercises. Surprisingly, I really felt a lot better with respect to my back.

Was the laser the miracle I had been waiting for? I really could not believe that, especially with only one treatment. When I went back to continue the treatments after returning from my parents, the physiotherapist and I discussed things and we came to the conclusion - believe it or not, especially for one like me who is not into exercise - that I had probably been overdoing it, particularly with some of the exercises. They might just have been exacerbating that grinding spinal joint pain.

Well, that was good news. I could ease off. That was two weeks ago and things are still going quite well. I guess I would have to say that was my answer to prayer, my miracle. Nevertheless, I will go for my last treatment and continue with the exercises that we don't think will make things worse. There are some things you just have to do. However, I am thankful for the considerable improvement I am enjoying. Praise the Lord!

So, as the psalmist kept doing, and I have been known to encourage others to, I am sharing this story with you. Perhaps it will help you in some situation you are dealing with.