REPOST Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, provided by Pastor Doug Tritton, was first posted on May 7, 2016.  A graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), Doug is the Lead Pastor of Grace Covenant Church, Philadelphia. 

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Hope and Resurrection”

Acts 23:6-8

Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

I really enjoy fantasy – movies, books, anything. There is something about fantasy that excites my imagination. I do not think it’s surprising that C.S. Lewis used fantasy in the Chronicles of Narnia to metaphorically speak of the Christian life. Fantasy lifts our minds out of the monotony of everyday life to a place that seems joyful, exciting, and fresh. 

Yet, this feeling should be the same when we think of our hope and resurrection. The new heaven and the new earth will be a place where we will have eternal joy, where we will no longer have pain, and where we will be with our King forever. I remember a friend giving me advice, saying, that as someone with a large imagination, I should turn my imagination to thinking about heaven because reflecting on our eternity with God ultimately brings hope. But this same advice applies to all us – we ought to reflect on heaven more. 

Paul was on trial for proclaiming this hope in Christ. Paul was a man who constantly reflected on eternity with God – just read his letters and you can tell he longed for heaven. How about you? Have you been longing for heaven lately, or has everyday life distracted you from eternity. Shift your mind to heaven, remember eternity, and suddenly everything will seem lighter, easier. Just like a great fantasy story that lifts us out of monotony, as we reflect on our eternity with Christ, on the truth of our resurrection into the new heaven and new earth, we will find that this life will be much easier to bear.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You have written eternity in our hearts. Let us not block out the truth of eternity with everyday troubles, but help us to remember that we have a hope of a future forever with You. Help us to long for our true home with You.  Amen.

Bible Reading for Today: Exodus 24-25