by John Eldredge, The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life We Always Dreamed Of, p. 111-120.
“Nearly every Christian I have spoken with has some idea that eternity is an unending church service….We have settled on an image of the never-ending sing-along in the sky, one great hymn after another, forever and ever, amen. And our heart sinks…”
“Jesus preached far more than the gospel of sin management. The good news he brought was much, much greater than forgiveness. Jesus came to announce the coming of ‘the kingdom of God’…”
“I’ve spoken with many people who believe that we become ‘spirits’ when we die; that we lose our bodies and float around. Some even believe we become angels. But I don’t want to lose my body; I very much want it to be renewed…”
“We seem to have forgotten – or perhaps we’ve never been told – that we get the earth back as well. Too many of us have placed eternity somewhere ‘out there,’ in a wispy and ethereal ‘heaven’ that we cannot imagine; in the clouds perhaps. ‘I love the earth,’ wrote a friend, ‘and it makes me sad to think it will all be destroyed one day.’ We have all probably shared in this sadness. But we needn’t. ‘Behold,’ says the Lord, ‘I will create new heavens and a new earth’ (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1 NIV). When he says he is making all things new, he includes the earth’.”
