James Bond Was Right: The World Is Not Enough

[Alternative title: Soccer and End-Times Eschatology...]

So I finished my prior blog with a question.

When God reviews our lives, which parts would he call highlights?

More on that in a bit. First, an opening rhetorical question. Is God holding back the final day pointlessly? (Said another way, does God like boring, scoreless soccer games that lack highlight-worthy plays?)

No. God has stayed his hand because there are things yet to be done.

What needs to be done? How long will God wait? The following scripture passage hints at answers to both questions.

2 Peter 3:3-10 (abridged)
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come... They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that ... the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends... The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare....

Many Christians, whether they know this particular scripture passage or not, are in agreement with two key ideas that can be found in it.

1) God is waiting because he wants more souls in heaven.
2) When Jesus returns, the whole universe will be doused with fire.

What's dangerous about these two thoughts is that they are both true.

Few things are more dangerous than an incomplete truth.

What do I mean? I mean that there is a third idea that gently glides in on the heels, seemingly implied by ideas #1 and #2.

3) God doesn't care about anything in the universe besides souls.

This third idea makes the Christian objective between now and judgement day quite clear. Focus like a laser on saving souls.

And that's exactly what Christians often do (if indeed they do anything publicly with their Christian faith at all). Many Christians treat this planet like it's a rapidly sinking ship — one from which we must hurriedly rescue dying souls.

The problem is, idea #3 is not true.

When we only value human souls, we miss the scope of God's plan.

So... What is the scope of God's plans? For starters, it's big. Really big.

Colossians 1:15-20 (abridged)
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven...

What I take away from this passage is that when Christians fail to live in line with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), we not only miss the mark, but in fact miss it by orders of magnitude.

Let's be clear about this: in this universe there are many things. And only a few of them are human souls. If Paul had wanted to be more specific and restrictive, he could have chosen other words.

But he did not! To the contrary, Paul makes it clear that Jesus is in the business of redeeming stuff that's not even on this planet.

Meaning? It's not simply "all about souls". It just simply isn't.

God is in the business, rather, of redeeming all of creation.

But Christians often treat the Earth like it's temporary and disposable.

Bad enough that we Christians frequently fail to demonstrate our allegiance to a God who wants to reconcile all people to himself.

Worse still, we even more frequently fail to demonstrate our allegiance to a God who wants to reconcile the universe to himself.

As I write this, a part of me squirms. God can create entirely new universes at whim. In that sense, this universe is rather disposable. And surely people are the pinnacle of creation. God's finest work.

But we must always remember how the Bible begins:

Genesis 1:31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

No less important! We must also remember how the Bible ends:

Revelation 21:31
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...

A new earth? Then the old one is disposable! Not so fast. The new earth is situated squarely in the midst of the old one. That's why in Revelation 22 we see a reference to a tree situated next to a river of life which flows down the middle of the new Holy City.

Revelation 22:2b
"And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

Think for a moment. If God were planning to start entirely from scratch, there would be nothing to heal, right? But that's not the case.

It's a fact that God prefers to redeem things. Not destroy them.

So let us align the words of Peter next to those of Paul and John. God loves his universe and has a long-term plan for it. Yes, Judgement fire will indeed come. But it will refine all things. Not obliterate them.

[This blog is already overlong, but this tangent beckons... John the Baptist fell into the same error we risk here. He completely misunderstood the nature of the coming fire. He knew the Messiah would come and baptize "with fire" — and clearly thought it would be a consuming fire of judgement. Jesus, the Messiah, carefully turned that ship around, gently correcting his cousin's error.

And when the fire finally came? Tongues of flame hovered the heads of his believers. The fire of the Holy Spirit came not to consume, but to bless. We do well to guard our own assumptions about how God will use fire in the future.]

Concluding Thoughts

A moment of Christian honesty. Close your eyes. Listen to these words. "We need to save the animals and protect our land and air!"

Now imagine where you are. Who said these words?

Are you at church? Did you just hear a pastor's voice? Or are you hearing the words of some movie star at a Greenpeace rally?

For me, the latter scenario is easier to imagine. That's very sad.

I'm now ready to take a swing at that original question.

When God reviews our lives, which parts would he call highlights?

I don't precisely know. But I can say this much with confidence.

1) God cares a great deal about how I treat other people.
2) God cares a great deal about how I treat animals.
3) God cares a great deal about how I treat his planet.

Suggest #1 in an American church and you're safe.
Go on to suggest #2 and you might get a few sideways glances.
Throw in #3 with references to climate change and oil consumption?

In America, that could mark the start of a good church brawl.

I found this comment in someone else's blog. It's a good closing word.

Martin Luther is reputed to have said, “If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree.” The saying does not appear in his collected works, but it’s the sort of thing Luther could have said, maybe even should have said. It’s very similar to a Jewish saying, “If you have a sapling in your hand and they tell you that the Messiah has arrived, first plant the sapling and then go out to greet him.”

Trees figure prominently in Eden. And in the Holy City yet to come.

Could my planting a tree now be counted among God's highlights?

Quite possibly. God clearly likes them a lot.