Eye Has Not Seen
By Dennis Pollock
Today we will look at a verse of Scripture that is very well-known. It has been quoted and preached about frequently throughout the history of the church. The apostle Paul wrote these words:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Paul is referring to the Christian's prospect of life in heaven, which will occur after this present life on earth is over. Those who follow Jesus accept this and other declarations of heaven by faith. We have not seen heaven, nor has God given us a detailed, comprehensive description of what our lives will be like throughout eternity. Not only have we not seen or heard these things; we cannot even imagine them. Our life with God in eternity will be far greater, far more beautiful, and infinitely more pleasurable than we could ever imagine. There is no need for us to speculate about precisely what we will be doing or seeing or enjoying. By faith, we accept the word of God that our lives in that blessed and holy place with God will be incomparably superior to the greatest, deepest, and fullest pleasures we have ever experienced here on earth.
We see here the tremendous difference between the evangelical Christians and the secular world around us. All of us have highs and lows, pleasures and sorrows, joys and struggles. When we add up the disparate events of our lives, we may say, "I've had a good life," or "My life has been OK," or "My life has involved a lot of struggles," or maybe some would say, "My life has been more pain than pleasure." And this can be true for believers and unbelievers, for Christians and atheists. But where we differ is that the follower of Christ is convinced that this life on earth is merely a warm-up, a probation period, a very brief, quickly passing time in which we can receive Jesus and eternal life and show ourselves approved unto God. Our real and permanent life, however, begins on the other side.
Spiritual vs Secular
The secular individual does not see it this way. For him or her, this life is all there is. There is nothing more. So, his goal is to get as much pleasure as he can in his short 70, 80, or 90 years on this earth. If he has more joys than sorrows, more pleasures than tragedies, he wins – sort of. But of course, fully believes that when this life is over there is nothing more, even his joys don't mean too much. As Solomon put it: "For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow?" (Ecclesiastes 6:12). In another place he sadly declares, "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind." (Eccl 1:14).
This is and inevitably must be the conclusion of all who look at life on earth with a purely secular perspective. Desperately trying to capture meaning, purpose, and pleasure in a God-less, Christ-less, heaven-less life is like grasping for the wind, and when you grasp for the wind, you get NOTHING.
But those who believe the Scriptures and embrace Jesus Christ do not see life this way. We believe in all kinds of things and people that we cannot see. We have not seen God or Christ or the Holy Spirit, yet we believe in the Holy Trinity. We have not seen angels or demons, yet we believe in them. And we have not seen heaven, or the new Jerusalem, or the streets of gold, or the many mansions in our Father's house, but we are persuaded that heaven is real, tangible, and wonderful, and we are convinced that one day we will inherit one of these mansions as our home, courtesy of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
"But I Want to Enjoy This Life!"
Sometimes young Christians are a bit ambivalent about the idea of heaven – at least for right now. If you ask a young man or woman who has just graduated from high school if he or she is looking forward to the return of Jesus, and going to heaven to be with Him, they might, if they are honest, say something like: "The truth is, I'm looking forward to a nice life on earth for a while. I am looking forward to getting married, having children, and having a beautiful family life. After that, once I am getting older and having aches and pains, and I don't look so pretty, then I'll start looking forward to Jesus coming and taking me away from this life."
But the reason some might say this, or at least think it, is that they do not really take the words of Scripture seriously. They cannot imagine a life better than being married, having children, owning their own house, and working in a highly successful career. But this is a matter of faith. God says, "It has not even entered your heart how great life with Me will be. It's not even possible to imagine the beauties and pleasures of heaven. But you need to take My word for it – I have prepared an amazing life for you in heaven that is as infinitely superior to your present life as the heavens are above the earth."
The question is: "Do we really believe this?" And do we live like we believe it? We should. The only expert in eternal matters who has ever lived and walked on this earth is Jesus Christ. He came from heaven. When He speaks about heaven and eternity, He knows whereof He speaks. And He tells us He will prepare a place for us and will come one day and take us there.
Lifetime Vaccine
Imagine that researchers have created a vaccine that will ensure you a long life of perfect health. It requires only one shot in the arm, and you will live to celebrate your hundredth birthday without sickness of any kind. Throughout the rest of your life, you will never get a headache, never get cancer, never get diabetes, never get a cold, never get the flu – you will spend day after day and year after year in perfect health until sometime after you have turned 100, as long as you can avoid accidents.
But there is one catch. On the day following your vaccine shot, you will be very sick. You'll have a headache all day long, you'll have a fever, you will cough, you will sneeze, and won't feel good at all. This is the vaccine starting to do its work in your body. But after that one day of sickness, you will feel better than you ever have in your life and every day following you will enjoy perfect health. So, the tradeoff is: one day of sickness, and then a long life with radiant health. If we could believe this was true, who would not take the vaccine? Who would not endure a single day of sickness for a lifetime of health?
And that is not so different from what God offers us through Jesus Christ. Except, rather than a day of sickness we endure a short 70, 80, or 95 years of struggles, difficulties, and frustrations, along with a good measure of joys, pleasures, and answered prayers. So, it's not nearly as bad as the illustration I've just shared. Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation." (John 16:33). So do not expect to get through life without trouble, without sickness, and without shedding a few tears." But God promises us that if, in our short life here on earth, we put our faith in Jesus, and abide in Him, we will go to a place where there are no struggles, there is no depression, there are no cancer clinics, there are no psychiatrists, and there are no pharmacies. None are needed. The Bible tells us that our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, nor can we even imagine how great this life with Christ will be, and we choose to believe the Bible.
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