Song Theology

This past weekend I spent three days at Olivet Nazarene University for Regional Celebrate Life, a four state church youth competition in art, music, and sports. After three days of very little sleep and poor cafeteria food I escaped the weekend with a thought for Monday.

One event they had was Nazarene Idol, as you can probably guess was a singing competition. The second girl to sing, sang "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood. She sang it well, but the longer I listened to it, the more frustrated I became. This goes back to a previous blog, but I just feel I have to talk about it again.

The whole song "Temporary Home" deals with the idea that we simply need to hang on and deal with life. It talks about how it's hard, but it's ok because this is just temporary, we aren't supposed to be here, so let's just endure it while we have to and one day it will be over and we'll get to heaven. But that isn't what I see in scripture. Heaven is not the goal, heaven is not what we were created for.

In the beginning everything was perfect, the Bible says, "God saw that it was Good." My Theology professor said that Genesis was as much creation as it was eschatology, (study of the end times). In Revelation it talks about all things being made new, about a new heaven and a new earth. One of my mentors quoted someone, I can't remember who, but he said, "If we're going up, we'll pass him on the way down." Scripture points to the earth being made new, a new creation where we dwell. We were created for here, not how it is presently, but this is where we were created.

Later in the evening a young man sang "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin, and as he sang I realized that the idea is not that I simply need to hold on, endure the trials, and then rejoice in heaven, but that I WILL rise with Jesus because he has overcome. Jesus has won the victory. He has taken hold of the prize that I am to strive for. The Bible talks about in Romans 8 and Philippians 3, that we are to become like Christ. That is the goal. We strive not to endure life but we strive to live it to the fullest. We strive for the goal, unity with Christ.

One of my professors said this, "The Bible contains everything you need to know to get to heaven, it does not contain the answers to everything you are curious about." While I love that professor dearly, and I believe it's a true statement I want to alter it just slightly, "The Bible contains everything you need to know to become like Christ," unity with Christ is the goal.

Jesus said in John 16.33, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." It won't be easy, their will be hardships, but I don't need to just hang on and struggle through life, because Jesus has overcome the world. The one I am striving to be like has overcome the world, and in him, I can overcome the world as well.

St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." So don't live in a temporary home, Rise when he calls your name. Jesus has overcome and won the victory, and he calls us to join him. Philippians 3.7-14,

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Live life to the fullest, live to the glory of God, and Rise!

Peace be with you