FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP / ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
As my wife and I traveled across the little country where we grew up, we were always fascinated by the names of places we passed through. Two that fascinated us most were Rest and Restore. These were the names of places on the plain before the rise of the high mountain chain. As I reflect on the names, I offer that they were both named in days when the only means of transportation were on foot, donkey, horse, and buggy. After the long trek on the plain, people used these places to pause, rest their feet, and catch their breath before they attacked the mountain chain.
When we came to the United States, we were also fascinated by the names of places, but above all, the place called Paradise, which is the town at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain. Until the town burnt down, Paradise was noted as among the best places to live in the United States. But, of course, there are many other places and things across the United States called Paradise. So, for example, there is Paradise Springs Winery in Santa Barbara, California; Paradise Indian Cuisine in Herndon, Virginia; Paradise Diner in Fredericksburg, Virginia; Paradise Rock Club in Boston; and multiple other places and things under the nomenclature Paradise. And, of course, Paradise Island in the Bahamas to avoid being accused of being biased.
All the paradise names are intended to remind us that there is a paradisical place called Heaven. And I do not know what you think of it, but I like the lyrics of that old song by the Jim Brady Trio.
I’m homesick for Heaven, seems I cannot wait,
Yearning to enter Zion’s pearly gate
There never a heartache, never a care,
I long for my home over there.
The Greatest of all is the thought that enthralls,
That I shall behold my King;
Rejoice in his presence, revel in His grace,
And ever his praises sing.
My reason for quoting the song is that I have seen enough of the consequences of the curses in this world. I accept the promise that God will not be ashamed to be called our God because he has prepared for us an eternal Paradise (Hebrews 11:10). I do not say the place “will be out of this world,” but as a metaphorical expression, it is. It is more than any language can describe. The Bible clarifies that it is not “a fantasy.” It is as real as the place we now live, except that it will be a new creation (Revelation 21:5).
What inspiration tells us in the Bible and poets have written through the ages, and what my imagination tells me is that this world will be a Paradise restored. John Milton’s poem, Paradise Lost, is an interesting description of the battle Satan has been carrying on for the destruction of humanity since Eden. His later work Paradise Regained is connected by name to the epic poem Paradise Lost. In Paradise Regained, Milton still sees a struggle. But he concludes that what will be regained is anything but our present life. I agree that even as we imagine the restoration of life, we continue to face a long struggle.
As one inspired voice I read states:
As we approach the close of time, on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, Satan will intensify his efforts to prevent the people of God from entering the beautiful land. He will prepare his temptations for those in holy office; if he can lead them to pollute their souls, he can destroy many through them. By worldly friendships, the charms of beauty, pleasure-seeking, partying, feasting, or liquor, he tempts people to violate the seventh commandment.
Those who will dishonor God’s image and defile His temple in their own bodies will not step back from any dishonor to God that will gratify the desire of their depraved hearts. It is impossible for slaves of passion to realize the sacred obligation of the law of God, to appreciate the atonement, or to appreciate the value of the soul. Goodness, purity, truth, reverence for God, and love for sacred things – all are burned up in the fires of lust. The heart becomes a blackened and desolate waste. People formed in the image of God are dragged down to a level with the animals. (Ellen White, Beginning of the End, p. 226.)
But I say, thank God there is an end to the struggle. Sin and its curse will be forever ended. There will be no more need for places of temporary rest and restoration before we climb the mountains and cross the luscious plains. With the presence of God, all will be well. It will be perfect holiness and wholeness. God will be in the midst of his people, and where God dwells, it’s Paradise.
