What we are becoming TODAY is what we will be tomorrow. Citizens of Heaven, are those who as Christ would say ‘bear good fruits’ (Matthew 7)they do this by the presence of the Holy Spirit which Paul tells us in Ephesians 1 is how we know we are a believer, and the ‘guarentee of our souls’ salvation. The presence of the Spirit creates these fruits, it does this by what Peter says is called ‘sanctification for the obedience to Jesus Christ’ (1Peter 1:2). Point being those who accept God’s grace and receive eternal life are in that moment ‘created new’ (2cor. 5:17) and so for the rest of their life they go are continually are transformed day by day from one degree of glory to the next into a citizen of Heaven. This is most clearly seen not in what they do ‘externally’ but on the inward transition that takes place in their heart.
Conversely this is also true for those who are citizens of this world. Who, like the citizens of heaven also await an inheritance. However, this inheritance is not one that resembles in any way the that which awaits those whose ‘Souls desire’ is found in God. You see the distinguishing mark or ‘seed’ within the heart of Christ Followers is a ‘love for God’. This seed may be weak or strong but it is always implanted upon receiving grace and repentance. Thus Heaven will be the fulfillment of their hearts affection and the magnification of it as well. So in those who do not love God, Heaven would not be a place they would be satisfied anyways, but one where they are not able to Worship the idols of this world or the god they have made of themselves, they would be miserable.
And as well without this ‘seed’ of love, they are not able to grow over there life into anything resembling a Citizen of Heaven. So they grow in their love for self, or whatever else they desire. Suppose for example that a man became so addicted to cocaine that what began as a fix from time to time, soon began to rule his life so strongly that he was no longer able to live a normal life at all, if the addiction continued it would take over himself so greatly that we might say ‘his life is hell’. Well that is a close resemblance to the Christian doctrine of hell. A man will grow either in his affection for himself (pride), sex (lust), mankind (humanism- let me say I do not think affection for man kind is a bad thing. I actually feel quite the opposite, man is to love his neighbor as himself. But the minute that Civility and Social Justice efforts become the God we worship we find that we have also slain the foundation of our god and any purpose we had in helping our brother man, any more than we would have in helping our ‘brother ox’) or any other idol from birth until death until it makes him so focused upon it that ‘his life is hell’. This idol becomes quickly a ruthless dictator who demands an ever conforming heart and soul. It demands we lay down all we have. A close parallel to the brutish gods of the greeks.
We are always serving something, and further always conforming to one world or the next…Which is left to our own choosing, but to not choose is simply not an option. You are born a servant to self and sin, thus you may change the ‘Lord’ you choose to serve, but you will never stop serving. Who will you serve?
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