I heard a definition of sin in church yesterday that I’ve never heard before.  The pastor at the church I was visiting referred to it as the act of taking worldly/earthly things and giving them heavenly significance.  What things on earth are we elevating above heaven?  But more than this, what things are we trying to take with us to heaven after we depart?  Have you ever thought, well, if heaven doesn’t have playstation then I’m out.  Yea, that’s sinful and should warrant further exploration.  My mind starts running through examples like this involving money, cars, gucci bags, etc.  Then he lays an example on us that makes my head spin.  Your spouse.  Did you just hear the breaks screeching in your ears cuz that’s exactly what happened to me yesterday when I first heard this.

Let me back up for a sec.  After spending the last few days wallowing in marital issues, it was interesting that his theme scripture would come from Luke 20:27-38, the passage referring to the Levirate marriage (see Gen 38:8 and Deut 25:5-6 for the background text on this).  To describe it briefly, its a Hebrew tradition in which the brother of the widow’s deceased husband must marry her and produce a child to bear his name.  I always thought of this as a way of making provision for the widow but what I never realized was that this tradition was steeped in the belief that the only means of living on after death was through one’s children.  This would explain why the child would be considered the deceased husband’s child rather than the new husband.  For those who recognized only the law of Moses (such as the pharisees and sadducees) there was no concept of ressurection after death and/or heaven. That’s why Jesus made the point of telling them that God is a god of the living not the dead and therefore he is (not was) the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
So, the question is posed to Jesus…who’s wife is she in the resurrection if she goes through all seven brothers childless and then dies herself?
I have never been taught formally on the subject of what will happen to your marriage after you die other than a few passing comments from my current pastor to married couples about being brothers and sisters while in the sanctuary.  This, of course, has been a source of irritation to me as I believed it to be his underhanded way of discouraging affection between married couples while in church.  As a newlywed, being told that your spouse will not be your spouse after you die is a tough enough pill to swallow.  Telling me that I need to practice this concept so that it won’t come as a suprise to me later was just plain ludicrous.  On the other hand, I actually feel somewhat cheated that this subject matter was never covered as part of my pre-marital counseling.  If I had to venture a guess, I would say its probably not taught in many pre-marital classes at all.
The thing that really blew my mind was when he referred to marriage as an earthly concern.  Wow.  Really?  Hmmmmm…well, now that I think about it, that makes perfect sense.  He explained that those who cannot accept the idea of not being married in heaven are ‘heavenizing’ something that was not meant to be eternal.  Thus the whole ’til death do us part’ in the vows.  I’ve never thought of it this way.  I’ve always thought that when I was reunited with my spouse, we would carry on just as we did on earth.  But the way this pastor explained it made  all of my objections fall away.  Now that I really think about it I don’t see what use spiritual beings would have with marriage.  It makes you wonder what those Sadducees were really getting at when they asked that question in the first place.  (I mean, leave it to a bunch of men to have a problem if a woman has 7 husbands.  I’m quite sure they wouldn’t have had a problem if it was a man who died with 7 wives.  Not my joke…the pastor’s by the way).  I mean, other than trying to trap Jesus, were they concerned about who was going to have dinner on the table every night, keep the house tidy, and give them good-loving at night?  (I’m cracking up right now cuz I just thought of the little old-school church mama next to me who was having a fit everytime the pastor said the word “sex.”  ‘He better not say it again!  Don’t you say it!’  LOL!!! So hilarious!)
Ok, maybe those examples are a bit shallow.  But Immanuel is my best friend on Earth, my closest companion, an excellent provider, an outstanding lover, and so many other things.  I truly can’t imagine spending eternity without him.  But then, if you look at all those things I just described, God is really suppposed to be all of those things to me even now but on a deeper level after I die.  Would my awesome and loving God who also happens to be jealous want to continue to share my heart forever?  I doubt it.  This is partly what Paul was alluding to when he basically said that marriage prevents a person from being fully devoted to God.  But as eternal beings we will be in constant communion and intimacy with God…marriage simply holds no purpose in heaven.  Its great but comes with its own share of drama and God has promised us no more tears or pain in heaven.  To me, that probably means there isn’t room for marital quarrels and misunderstandings. 
I totally get it now.  I’m not saying that we should just forget about marriage or give up on the one you have since you won’t be married in heaven anyway.  I honestly believe that God takes what we do here on earth very seriously and marriage is among one of our most important life ministries.  But I do think this warrants a shift in my previous perspective.  I still believe in romance and passion, but I think that placing my happiness entirely in the hands of another human being is causing me more harm than good.  In fact, this whole ‘her desire shall be for her husband’ thing was all part of the curse.  But with God I know I am always understood, always heard, always loved, and always taken care of.  My husband can’t do that for me all the time nor can I for him and thankfully this is not our responsibility forever.  So my new thing is going to be to entrust the Lord more than I entrust my husband, my family, or my closest friends with my heart.  How much better to be cared for by someone who knows my thoughts and needs than by someone who always has to figure them out?
I’m reminded of how I felt the first time I praise danced.  I got to this whole new level of worship like nothing I had ever experienced before where I literally felt like all I had to do was reach out in order to literally touch God.  That scripture that says ‘in the presence of the Lord is the fullness of joy’ had whole new meaning for me that day.  I could barely stand…could barely carry out coherent conversation…my mind was racing and I couldn’t stop trembling and found myself constantly either shedding tears or just on the edge of them.  That was the first time in my life I can truly say I was in tune with God mind, body, and soul.  But when I woke up the next day, that feeling was gone.  It was like that fullness was lifted right out of me and I felt empty and drained.  I spent almost two full days on the couch overcome with what felt like incredible grief and sadness.  All I could think about was wanting to be with God.  I literally did not want to be alive anymore…not that I was a danger to myself but I felt completely disconnected from everything around me.  It was spiritual withdrawal and its the reason I am very careful about when and how I will choose to minister in dance in the future.
I honestly think that’s what happens to us when we die and go to heaven.  That part of us that is inaccessible to man…that only God can touch…will become permanantly activated.  Everything we could possibly want will be satisfied and things that make us happy now (like sex) will be forgotten because Jesus will literally be everything that we will ever want or need.  And as much as I enjoy sex, I can truly say that the way I felt that day I danced was better than anything I’ve ever experienced before.  I know that no one but God can do that for me whether its for a moment or forever.  Maybe you already knew all of this but for me, this is an incredible revelation.  Which leads me to my next question…do we really need to prepare for heaven?  Something tells me that spending all of eternity glorifying God will be something automatic and intrinsic…I really don’t think one of the angels or an old saint will have to pull us aside and give us an orientation on how things are done up there but I could be wrong.  Doesn’t really matter.  I’m just happy in what I know does.

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