Between Two Worlds

We have been studying heaven and life with an eternal perspective in our group devotional. We've studied the New Earth to come, which will once again be free from sin's consequences. God will once again walk with us as He did in the garden before the fall. Today we considered our present state as pilgrims and sojourners on this earth, awaiting our true home to come. Life makes so much more sense when we realize that we are living between two perfect worlds - the original sinless creation and the restored earth (heaven - Rev. 21:1) to come. The pain, frustration, and longing we often feel is natural if we are not yet in our homeland. Nicole spoke for all of us when she said that she has studied this before, but it makes so much more sense now that we are away from our present homeland of America. We miss our homes in America, but even more we long for our true country that awaits us as citizens of heaven.

Today we were able to borrow a guitar and sing a few worship songs in English during our group time. It was like drinking from cold, fresh water after being in the desert. They music is great here and I imagine the words are good, but we have no clue what they are saying. To sing and hear music in English felt like such a treat!

Dema, the young boy we shared with yesterday, followed up with us today. He tracked me down this morning and said he thought about the question and knows what God will do if he fails to obey His commands - He will punish him. He really wanted to talk more (as did I) so we met after the evening meeting with our translator. The short of it is we spent an hour talking through Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Through asking questions, drawing pictures, and explaining the passage Dema understood (I think) that God made a way for him to be in heaven with Him through Jesus' death on the cross. Both God's love for Dema and His requirement of justice were satisfied in that one act. All Dema has to do is receive God's free gift. He understands the need to obey God, but he has obedience in the wrong context. He thinks obedience earns God's forgiveness instead of obedience being a result of forgiveness. It was difficult to communicate through a translator, but I think he understands. He wants to think about it more. We still have four more days of camp, so please pray that God would work in His heart, reveal His truth to Him, and that Dema would receive God's gift of salvation.

Thanks for following along at home. We really appreciate your prayers. Thanks to those of you who post comments. We check once in a while and are encouraged by your words.

(The picture is of Luke and Dema in a silly game on stage during the morning meeting)