Consummation of a Life of Faith

What is the consummation of our life of faith? What is the natural, highest, best outcome we could imagine? Is it not living with Jesus for eternity. Is it not friendship with God, being welcomed into his family? Isn't our love for Jesus consumed in being enveloped in the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

The proper reward for following Christ is to be with Him and become like Him. Heaven is a proper reward because it is the very best outcome of living a surrendered life. That is why we seek, because we long to find. It's not selfish. It's not tacked on. The rewards Jesus offers to his followers in the Gospels are the consummation of our lives here. We shouldn't feel any embarrassment about living today, motivated by a desire to receive a heavenly reward. That's the highest, best outcome of our new life.

Heb. 11:1-3:  "People who say such things (living as strangers here) show that they are looking for a country of their own...they are longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Living a life of faith for the hope and promise of heaven is a pure motive, because it is the consummation of our desire to be with God, to be pleasing to him. Moses lived his life for his heavenly reward:

"Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Heb. 11:24

"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection."  Heb. 11:27-40 

It seems that our desires for heaven and the Lord's reward cannot be too strong.

Reflection #6 on C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory

 

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Proper Rewards

It seems that we actually resist working for Jesus' reward. Why?

It troubles us, I think, that we would do a good thing for someone so that we could receive a reward. That seems selfish--not loving. It feels like we have mixed motives. So we put out of our minds the staggering, unblushing promises of rewards and seek to live a life of love -- of doing good for others, making sacrificial choices, without thinking of any benefit to ourselves because that feels better to us. We think it's more godly, more pure. We don't want to think that there's anything in it for us. We've been deceived!

When would a reward be a bad thing? When shouldn't we seek a reward?

There are different kinds of rewards. It is the rewards that "have no natural connection to the things you do to earn them and are quite foreign to them" that are wrong.

For example: Money is not the natural reward of love. So if you marry someone for his money - that's wrong. But if you marry someone for the reward of being able to be together, in love for your whole life...that's pure. That's not selfish, but the proper reward of love.

If a general goes to war to get a higher position for himself, that's not the natural reward, that's selfish. But if he goes to war and fights well for victory, that's not selfish, that's the natural end, that's what he is fighting for. Victory is the proper reward for battle just like marriage is the proper reward of love.

Proper rewards are not just tacked on to the activity, they are the activity in consummation. Love in consummation is marriage; the consummation of fighting a battle is victory. Rewards that are the natural, highest, best outcome --are not selfish but right and true, proper rewards.

Reflection #5 on C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory

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Longing for Heaven

Why does Jesus want us to long for heaven and seek it with all our heart?

Possibly because he knows us. He knows how we seek what we believe will make us happy. And if we don't know much about heaven, then we are looking to have our needs met by the things of this life. Even as upside down as it seems, what makes us the most miserable can be satisfying something we desire.

Given our perspective on the world, we aren't trying to change our circumstances, we can't seem to change our behavior, and may, if we could see our motives it's because we like things the way they are.

We may think that we are doing something because it is the right thing to do, but underlying what we may be saying to ourselves and others, there's another motive that is more true to how things really are. The role we are playing in the relationship works for us. Our misery works for us. It feels comfortable. We know it. Doing anything differently conjures up too many fears, feels too risky.

We seek our own interests as we perceive them and fool around with shopping and eating and getting ahead, manipulating our kids and controlling our friends, like ignorant children who want what we want NOW to make us happy for an instant rather than wait for what will truly satisfy. "We want to go on making mud pies in the slums because we cannot imagine what is meant by an offer to go on vacation at the ocean."

Jesus knows we are far too easily pleased. Our desires are not too strong for heaven's reward, but too weak. So he gives us a clearer picture of heaven that we will desire it. Longing for heaven, thinking about our reward there, makes the things of this world grow strangely dim.

Reflection #4 on C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory

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Gifts for us

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards in the Gospels" we'll realize that Jesus is not afraid of tarnishing our motives with incredible gifts if we choose to follow him.

Is it possible the Jesus knew that our desiring heaven would be faint--and He gives us such staggering promises in order to strengthen our desire for heaven? So don't be afraid of embracing and praying to Jesus to strengthen your comprehension of His reward. He wants us to want it -- to really want it!

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col. 3: 1-2

It is not selfish to desire His reward. How could it be too self-focused to want what God wants for us? Don't be deceived! Our longing for heaven is not too strong, but too weak.

Reflection #3 on C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory

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Practicing the Presence of Christ

When Christ saves us, we are immediately God’s. We do not have to wait for eternity to be his friend, his child, his purpose-filled worker. Every moment we live is lived in his presence. His Spirit lives in us, walks with us, and connects us to God every moment we let him. We do not have to work for this. We do not have to be good enough. We do not have to say certain things or do elaborate things to be led and loved by God.

God's love is a free gift – grace. We can always have joy, peace, kindness, love, patience, self-control, gentleness, faithfulness. So….why do we sometimes feel distant from God, why do we sin, why do we doubt, why are we stressed and fearful, why do we waste so much time on selfish things? I think it is because we don’t pay attention to God. We ignore his Spirit. We say yes to ourselves and no to Jesus. We get busy, we forget the important stuff, we drift.

I want to pay attention to God a lot more. I want to embrace his Spirit every moment. I want to say no to myself daily so that I can say yes to Jesus and the journey he has for me. 

shared by Christy

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Desiring our Own Good

What will we find if we choose to deny ourselves so that we may follow Christ? We will find promises of our own good, enjoyment, and fulfillment of our deepest longings. Following Christ holds out for us the most incredible appeal to receive all that we would ever desire.

If you think that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it, is a bad thing, is actually selfish, you've embraced some other philosophy, but NOT the Christian faith.

Reflection #2 on C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory

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Self-focused

I've journaled my way through C.S. Lewis' Weight of Glory. I thought I'd share some of my reflections here as they have been very helpful to me.

Reflection #1:

We are afraid that we might be too focused on ourselves. Often we start to think that the highest virtue is not thinking about ourselves, not serving ourselves, not being selfish. But there is a fundamental difference between being unselfish and loving.

The negative idea of "unselfish" carries with it the suggestion NOT of primarily securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. Self-denial is mentioned a lot in the Bible, but not for the sake of itself. We are told to deny our self and take up our cross so that we can follow Christ, and live a life of love. God commands us to love.

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Thoughts from Spurgeon

Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge.

I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with him. No, I must know him myself; I must know him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge...as the Word reveals him.

I must know his natures, divine and human. I must know his offices—his attributes—his works—his shame—his glory.

I must meditate upon him until I “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”

It will be an affectionate knowledge of him; indeed, if I know him at all, I must love him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning...

To conclude; this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one; in fact, so elevating, that sometimes it will completely bear me up above all trials, and doubts, and sorrows; and it will, while I enjoy it, make me something more than “Man that is born of woman, who lives but a few days, which are full of trouble”; for it will fling about me the immortality of the ever living Saviour, and gird me with his eternal joy.

Come, my soul, sit at Jesus’s feet and learn of him all this day.

Spurgeon, C. H. from Morning and evening: Daily readings

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