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To many of us, “hope” sounds wishful and tentative, but biblical hope means to anticipate with trust. We expect a sure thing, purchased on the cross, accomplished and promised by an all-knowing God. Scripture offers solid ground for our hope in Christ. 

Randy Alcorn gave a message at Rise City Church in Gresham, Oregon about the theology of Heaven and the New Earth. He shared the good news that hope is found in an eternal life of “God with us.” The painful life under the curse on this present Earth is contrasted with the redeemed life we were intended for on the New Earth. Earth’s greatest days, as well as our own, are yet to come.  

It sounds like you are aware that living together without a covenant marriage commitment goes against what God tells us is His will for us and you are concerned about the consequences of continuing to live together. 

Inevitable questions about biblical forgiveness arise. Does forgiveness imply we ignore issues of justice and restitution? Does forgiveness absolve the guilt of the perpetrator? Does forgiveness imply reconciliation?

Believers are, as Paul puts it, one in Christ. Not ceasing to be male or female, or ceasing to be whatever race we were created as, but fully united regardless of our differences. The glory of God is greater because people of different tribes, nations, and languages of different times and places will be forever united in Jesus.

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy talks about how since our best experiences will be on the New Earth, Christians don't need a bucket list mentality. None of us will ever pass our “peaks” on this side of Heaven.  

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy answers the question, “What would you like to be able to tell your younger self?” He talks about learning to say no in order to say yes to God, and about not listening to the voices telling you to avoid being radical in your service to the Lord.

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy talks about the problem of suffering. He shares about his own experience of grieving his wife Nanci, and how the Bible allows us to face the hardest questions of life in the light of God’s sovereignty.

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy Alcorn talks about listening to the Bible on audio as part of his personal devotions.

In this clip from a Q&A at an illumiNations gathering, Randy Alcorn discusses the power God’s Word has to change hearts, and the role it has played in his personal life.  

Randy joins a conversation with Stephan Tchividjian and Morgan Jackson at a gathering of illumiNations partners (Bible translation and resource partners working together to eradicate Bible poverty in this generation). They cover topics such as the power of God’s Word (both at home and abroad), the problem of suffering, and the hope of the New Earth.

Tragically, many people do not find their joy in Christ and Heaven. In fact, many people find no joy at all when they think about Heaven. A pastor once confessed to me, “Whenever I think about Heaven, it makes me depressed. I’d rather just cease to exist when I die.”

When we’re in Heaven, without sin, it won’t be hard to remember that Jesus is the source of every good thing, including reunion with loved ones. And here and now, we can pray, telling Jesus how much we long for that reunion, and sharing our deepest longings, hopes, and hurts with Him.

I first posted about “the problem of goodness” on my blog 14 years ago, but it is still relevant to conversations I’m having today with others (nothing has changed other than the fact that I am 14 years older!). People always talk about the problem of evil, and how it threatens the Christian worldview, but they almost never talk about the problem of goodness and how it threatens non-Christian worldviews.