Heaven is Leisure

"Heaven is leisure ('there remaineth a rest for the people of God'): but I picture it pretty vigorous too as our best leisure really is. Man was created 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.' Whether that is best pictured as being in love, or like being one of an orchestra who are playing a great work with perfect success, or like surf bathing, or like endlessly exploring a wonderful country or endlessly reading a glorious story -- who knows?" Collected Letters, Volume III, p. 856.

C. S. Lewis once said that for him Heaven would be like Oxford set in the middle of County Down. Looking at the photo above one can guess why he would say that. I love travel and exploration so I can relate to Heaven being like endlessly exploring a wonderful country. And like Lewis I could spend a lifetime endlessly exploring Oxford (the bookstores, the pubs, the architecture, the history, the secret gardens, the rivers, the variety of people, the colleges and the intellectual life) or the beautiful scenery of County Down (with its quaint little villages like Crawfordsburn, the majestic mountains which drop off into the sea, the sandy beaches, the glowing stained glass in churches like Downpatrick).

I have often been a bit troubled by the fact that I don't respond positively to some of the images of Heaven in the Bible--streets of gold and gates of pearl don't thrill me. But the bottom line is that Heaven will be better than anything humans can imagine, whether that be the human beings who wrote the books of the Bible, or even the most imaginative and creative human writers like C. S. Lewis. Heaven will be more beautiful, more fascinating, more deeply satisfying and refreshing than any picture we could paint of it--and that mainly because the One we were created to glorify and enjoy will be there.

"No eye has seen,

No ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who

love him."

1 Corinthians 2:9

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C. S. Lewis on Homosexuality

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When I solicited questions to be addressed in this series, a member of the congregation wrote this to me: “Animals are mentioned in the Bible as beasts of burden and sacrificial animals. Is there any mention of treating animals with kindness?” The short answer to that question is: yes. However, it is important to note that what the Bible says about caring for animals comes in the midst of a great narrative. It is a narrative of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. Let’s look at these three great acts in the narrative play of world history one by one. First, let’s look at creation. Creation At the very beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 26 through 28, we read this: Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the

A Prayer at Ground Zero

Christmas Day Thought from Henri Nouwen

" I keep thinking about the Christmas scene that Anthony arranged under the altar. This probably is the most meaningful "crib" I have ever seen. Three small woodcarved figures made in India: a poor woman, a poor man, and a small child between them. The carving is simple, nearly primitive. No eyes, no ears, no mouths, just the contours of the faces. The figures are smaller than a human hand - nearly too small to attract attention at all. "But then - a beam of light shines on the three figures and projects large shadows on the wall of the sanctuary. That says it all. The light thrown on the smallness of Mary, Joseph, and the Child projects them as large, hopeful shadows against the walls of our life and our world. "While looking at the intimate scene we already see the first outlines of the majesty and glory they represent. While witnessing the most human of human events, I see the majesty of God appearing on the horizon of my existence. While

Sheldon Vanauken Remembered

A good crowd gathered at the White Hart Cafe in Lynchburg, Virginia on Saturday, February 7 for a powerpoint presentation I gave on the life and work of Sheldon Vanauken. Van, as he was known to family and friends, was best known as the author of A Severe Mercy , the autobiography of his love relationship with his wife Jean "Davy" Palmer Davis. While living in Oxford, England in the early 1950's, Van and Davy came to faith in Christ through the influence of C. S. Lewis. Van was a professor of history and English literature at Lynchburg College from 1948 until his retirement around 1980. A Severe Mercy tells the story of Davy's death from a mysterious liver ailment in 1955 and Van's subsequent dealing with grief. Van himself died from cancer in 1996. It was my privilege to know Van for a brief period of time during the last year of his life. However, present at the White Hart on February 7 were some who knew Van far better than I did--Floyd Newman, one of Van&

Glenmerle

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Will Vaus

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