Foreword & Introduction ...

Past the influence of poisons on our bodies, past the influence of chemicals on our brains, and past our inherent nature to serve only ourselves – lies a new creature, a new person, a re-created version of me.  What will we look like when the process of perfection has been completed within us?  What lessons can we learn from our destiny that we can apply to our lives in the here and now?  These are the questions this small volume will attempt to explore.  A journey towards an unknown state of being, it has been much prophesied and hoped for, and now is finally at hand – our destiny is soon upon us.

Heaven is not merely a city of our God where our origins were planned and designed.  Nor is it merely a city where we will ultimately come to take up residence.  It is not just a state of mind, or utopian set of ideals.  Heaven is a reference point to measure the intentions of our God on our existence both here and in the eternity to come.  It is true that … “We were meant for so much more, but we lost ourselves.” – Switchfoot.  What will our existence look like, when our recreation is complete?

The creative aspect of our God is perhaps the most profound characteristic we know of Him outside of His ability to love.  It is critical to us, in that our choice to embrace evil has led us into slavery to ourselves and to serving only our own interests.  To become something else, to become something new, to really experience a change of mind and heart, we will require a re-creation.  We will need our creator God to once again mold the dust and dirt that compose our feeble existence back into the intentions He originally had for each of us.  Without His ability to create, our hope would die in our own stubborn attachment to self.  But through the power of His love, and His ability to transform the worthless into the priceless, our hope is reborn in Him.

This volume is intended to stimulate our thoughts towards a life past our day to day experiences in this imperfect world.  If we contemplate what has yet to be, perhaps it will give us pause, and help us to reprioritize what is important in the here and now.  Perhaps with an eye on what is to come we can come to exist in the present reflecting the values that alone will last into eternity.  The pursuit of wealth, of fame, and of power have long been presented as the ultimate measures of success.  But what if none of these matter in the lens of eternity?  If they do not, then what will take their place?  Those things that alone will last past the measure of linear time are perhaps the only things we should allow to occupy our lives pursuits in the here and now.