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Archives for September 2019

What Heaven Will Be Like

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Reading time: 4 minutes

What is your best possible interpretation of what heaven will be like?

More importantly though, how would knowing the best possible interpretation impact the way you live today? How would your quality of life improve?

Can We Know What Heaven Will Be Like?

I like to spend time thinking about heaven because it lifts my spirit to remember that the difficulties of present-day life won’t last forever. God has something much better planned. By reading only 1 Corinthians 2:9, it’s easy to believe that no one can understand how great heaven will be.

But it is just as the Scriptures say,
“What God has planned
    for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
    or ears have heard.
It has never even
    entered our minds!”

1 Corinthians 2:9 (CEV)

But, The Living Bible (TLB) translation communicates the full idea in context:

That is what is meant by the Scriptures which say that no mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (TLB)

No mere man has ever. A “mere man” is one who isn’t connected to God by the Holy Spirit. If you have the Spirit of God living inside of you, then you aren’t a mere man.

God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10 (CEV)

The TLB drives home the point further:

But we know about these things because God has sent his Spirit to tell us, and his Spirit searches out and shows us all of God’s deepest secrets.

1 Corinthians 2:10 (TLB)

You can know more about heaven than you realize. What is your best possible interpretation of what heaven will be like? What is the Holy Spirit telling you about heaven?

What We Know About Heaven

I like John 14:2 because I can picture a permanent home that God has for me.

Revelation 21:4 and 22:3 assure me that pain and suffering will be no more.

With sin and suffering gone, what will remain? You might feel like your current life isn’t worth living, but what about a perfect heaven? Will there be anything worth doing? Will you be bored?

It’s hard not to think about what you feel most deprived of on earth instead of what will be most positive in heaven. To get around this, try asking what heaven will be like at two distinct times.

First, when you are at your worst. If you’ve exercised for a while without access to water, you’d equate heaven to a glass of water. Before you object, consider how much Esau gave up when he was famished (see Genesis 25).

Now, let’s assume you’re well fed, had a good night’s sleep, and you’re in a good mood. You’re happy. What do you imagine heaven will be like? It will still be way better.

Even though I don’t know specifically what we’ll be doing, I know we won’t be bored. God has something better planned. Your afterlife days will always be better than your best present-day life.

Without sin to distract us and sabotage our progress, we’ll focus on building something bigger than ourselves. As Christ’s bride, we can partner with Christ to accomplish something greater than the best of things we have now.

Are you frustrated with having to make decisions all the time? Some decisions are heartbreaking because there’s no optimal option – only the lessor of two evils. But in heaven, such difficult decisions won’t exist.

I’m looking forward to heaven where I can have my cake and eat it too. I won’t have to worry about the FOMO (the fear of missing out). In heaven, we’ll never be out of step (out of unity) with God and His purposes. We’ll have time for both community and individual interests.

Heaven will be like a multi-layered cake. We’ll be able to taste all the layers at the same time in a perfect mixture. The reality of heaven will allow us to experience true:

  1. Devotion: we can worship without rebellion.
  2. Identity: we can create without obstacles.
  3. Productivity: we can serve without fatigue.
  4. Intimacy: we can fellowship without fear or shame.
  5. Understanding: we can learn without confusion.
  6. Peace: we can rest without worry. (a)

For now, you’ll need to find some way to balance your life. Sometimes, you can eat half your cake, and sometimes you might not get any at all. But however much cake you have, you can be satisfied with that, especially when you can have some idea of what having the whole piece must taste like.

How are you struggling to keep your life balanced? What aspect of heaven do you daydream about? What is your best possible interpretation of what heaven will be like? Share your picture of heaven in a comment.

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(a) adapted from a list found on https://www.biblestudytools.com

Security Leads to Trust

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Reading time: 2 minutes

Even in heaven, we won’t ever know everything there is to know. We might as well get used to the idea during this life.

Sometimes I think life would be so much better if I knew everything. Having an explanation is good, but at some point, too much knowledge only complicates matters. If you don’t need to know something to live a happy, productive life, then it’s probably not necessary.

Seeking out wisdom doesn’t result in you having all the answers. You can be wise and not have all the answers. There’s always more to learn. In fact, it is the fool who thinks no further knowledge or learning is needed (see Proverbs 10:14 and 12:15).

To the one who has everything, what motive is there to act?

To the one who feels completely well, what motive is there to seek a doctor?

To the one who knows everything, what motive is there to seek wisdom?

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

God is praised for being mysterious; rulers are praised for explaining mysteries.

We honor God for what he conceals; we honor kings for what they explain.

Proverbs 25:2 ESV, NLT, CEV, GNT
You can seek knowledge forever and never know it all. But you can know love in one instant and it can last a lifetime (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13). Share on X

A balance is needed between pursuing knowledge and trusting God. You can enjoy pursuing God and all His mysteries. But don’t let yourself become miserable in the present moment because you don’t understand all that God is doing.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

Finding God doesn’t mean you will find all the answers. Find God means finding His loving arms so that you can experience the warmth of His love. When you are secure in love, a lot of other details don’t matter any more. When you can trust God to guide you, you don’t have to worry about the condition and direction of the road.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

What is the condition of your road? Maybe the road is scary, but that doesn’t mean you have to be scared. Ask God for a touch of His love. Ask God for wisdom. Then trust God with whatever road is before you.

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The Wisdom Of Proverbs 18:4 Is Deep

The Wisdom Of Proverbs 18:4 Is Deep

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Reading time: 3 minutes

There’s no doubt that wisdom is priceless and the Bible is the source of all wisdom. A misunderstood Bible verse can cause a life of unnecessary confusion and suffering. The Bible teaches us who we are and who God is. Both are the foundations for understanding how life works. Errors in understanding will have serious consequences.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who obtains understanding.

Proverbs 3:13 (God’s Word Translation)

What happens if the Bible, the very source of truth, isn’t interpreted correctly? When you don’t understand a Bible verse, do you skip over it or do you stop and search for a way to better understand it? A wise person will prioritize gaining understanding. Difficult passages of the Bible make sense when you make an effort to understand them.

What Exactly is Wisdom?

Proverbs 18:4 defines wisdom as a “rushing stream.” But is that all it means?

The words of the mouth are deep waters,
    but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.

NIV (Proverbs 18:4)

What is this verse saying? Is it saying that words coming from a person are deep but wisdom is simple (shallow?) like a rushing stream? That doesn’t make sense to me, or it’s confusing at best. To me, it seems to be saying that a person’s thoughts are complicated but God’s truth is simple. While there is some truth to this, that’s not the full meaning behind this verse.

As a new Christian, I read the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. I like it because it translates many difficult passages into more understandable English. But, for Proverbs 18:4, the NIV leaves me scratching my head.

In the post Are You Interpreting the Bible Correctly? I talked about how using multiple versions of the Bible can help you find a more accurate meaning. Let’s see how that helps.

Wisdom is Understanding

Since I became a Christian nearly 30 years ago, many new translations have been developed. This is good news because any one translation has its biases. In considering Proverbs 18:4, the NIV seems to lean more towards a word-for-word translation (like the ESV). It stays closer to the original wording but in this case, lacks readability.

Words of wisdom
are a stream
    that flows
    from a deep fountain.

CEV (Proverbs 18:4)

A person’s words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.

GNT (Proverbs 18:4)

The CEV, GNT, and other translations omit the “but” and instead find harmony within the verse. The deep fountain and bubbling brook are one and the same. These translations clearly present a positive meaning. Words of wisdom come from a deep place, but they can be expressed in understandable and meaningful ways. When checked against common sense, it sounds right.

The TPT version, even though more of a paraphrase translation, amplifies the meaning further. It adds the idea of wisdom coming from “the one with understanding.”

Words of wisdom are like a fresh, flowing brook—
like deep waters that spring forth from within,
bubbling up inside the one with understanding.

TPT (Proverbs 18:4)

The TLB combines it all together into one concise thought.

A wise man’s words express deep streams of thought.

TLB (Proverbs 18:4)

A wise person can find ways to express his deep thoughts in ways that others can understand. I summarize verse 4 as a wise man’s words gush from a heart of understanding (see the Pulpit Commentary verse 4). Finally, I conclude that Proverbs 18:4 means that deep words come up from within a person of understanding ready to be applied to life. The deep represents a person’s experiences; the brook represents applicability to life in the moment.

From here we might go on to ask, how does a person find wisdom and obtain understanding? How do you know you have understanding? What are the fruits of understanding something? Wisdom is essentially recognizing that God has all the answers. Sometimes people gain it directly from the Holy Spirit and sometimes it comes through personal experience and reflection (lessons learned).

Learn more about wisdom.
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Last Updated 2023/09/03

Are You Interpreting the Bible Correctly?

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Reading time: 3 minutes

A casual reading of the Bible can lead you in the wrong direction. Sometimes the consequences can be trivial, but at other times they can be severe.

Any contemporary Bible version is a translation from the original text (usually in Hebrew or Greek). A translator must interpret the source language to determine what is the best word choice in the destination language.

To better understand a passage, it’s helpful to read multiple versions of a passage in context. Ask, “what meaning did the original author intend?” Sometimes, it’s not so obvious. But we have the Holy Spirit to help us gain the best meaning. We also have each other as believers to help with understanding.

Proverbs 18:2 isn’t too complicated, so it’s an easy place to start. Consider how the meaning becomes more clear by reading multiple versions.

Fools find no pleasure in understanding
    but delight in airing their own opinions.

NIV (Proverbs 18:2)

Fools have no desire to learn;
    they would much rather
    give their own opinion.

CEV (Proverbs 18:2)

So far we can see that “understanding” and “to learn” can be substituted for each other. That’s not too profound, but let’s look at two more.

A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is.

GNT

Senseless people find no pleasure in acquiring true wisdom,
for all they want to do is impress you with what they know.

TPT (Proverbs 18:2)

With these next two, we get a couple of new phrases. I like how the GNT shows the idea of not caring about understanding which allows hasty actions and a lack of patience. We also learn that a fool is senseless.

A rebel doesn’t care about the facts. All he wants to do is yell.

TLB (Proverbs 18:2)

The last one (TLB) is more of a paraphrase translation. But can’t you just picture someone airing their opinions by yelling? You can imagine the fool in action. This gives me a picture of someone who doesn’t necessarily make sense, but who probably believes that whoever is louder is more right. Verse 1 supports that idea.

People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.

GNT (Proverbs 18:1)

So, fools will stick to their folly even in the face of mounting evidence against them (see also Proverbs 23:9 and 26:4).

Proverbs 18:1 is more complicated than verse 2. In fact, based on some commentary I read on BibleHub.com and BibleGateway.com, it’s possible to interpret verse 1 as encouragement to separate from others.

And, if you believe or know by the Holy Spirit that you have found the truth, then you should stubbornly hold to your convictions, even in the face of many dissenters (see Romans 16:17-18).

However, the positive interpretation is wrong if you stubbornly hold to a false belief. A fool will place his own opinion above the truth. A fool doesn’t really care about truth. Most commentaries agree that Proverbs 18:1 is interpreted correctly as a warning to not find yourself in the wrong camp, rather than (in this context) as an encouragement to defend your opinions.

You need discernment to understand what the Bible says. Without a connection with God, you could end up misinterpreting and misapplying a verse. Ask, what do I know to be true? Ask, what have I already learned? Ask, what do other parts of the Bible say? Ask, what situation is in front of me (someone who is behaving well, or someone who is senseless)?

Next week, I’ll continue to explore this idea with verses 3 and 4.

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