City Life ...

City slicker, or country bumpkin; do you prefer either, both, something else entirely?  There are those of us who truly appreciate large cities.  They just seem to speak to us.  A city like New York, or Los Angeles, or Washington D.C. just seems to exude a rhythm, a work ethic, a unique sense of relaxation or stress.  Maybe it is the people that live in them, but as the population tends to come from all over the world, this would appear to make less sense.  Maybe it is the geography or the climate, but then not all northern or southern cities “feel” the same.  Maybe it is the architecture of the buildings, but this would make more sense internationally than within our nation.  There is just something about a city where it seems to illicit in us both positive and negative reactions.  Country living on the other hand seems to have a much more common theme – wide open expanse.  Whether it is on a wheat farm in Nebraska, a mountainside in Oregon, an old plantation farm in deep south, or a country home in Maine – the common theme they share is an appreciation for the beauty of nature, a preference to leave it as “untouched” as possible, and the ability to “move around” without bumping in to a constant stream of people.  It is interesting then to consider that our eternal destiny is to be both city-dweller, and country-dweller for all time.

The God of the universe, our God of life and love, tends to reside on a throne.  From what we can gather in scripture, His throne is at the highest pinnacle of a city, a city we call Heaven.  It was from this city that Lucifer who became Satan was cast out.  Satan and his followers were barred from re-entry other than by invitation (as when the conversation over Job occurred).  And it is at the end of evil that Satan will try in futility once more to take the city with his army of evil angels, and resurrected evil men and women.  Apparently, even beyond what we understand about cities, the city of heaven is something that perfect love will defend, and absolute evil covets for its own.  It is in this very city that Jesus Himself promises to build us a home, that we might return to be with Him forever.  It is in the book of Revelations where the Apostle and prophet John describes what He can see of the city of heaven, it’s basic dimensions and some of its characteristics, such as having twelve gates whose doors are made of solid pearl, 12 foundations of various precious stones, and streets made of gold.  God however, is always described as being located at the city center, and at the highest point.  Christ is usually found at God the Father’s right hand.  If these locations predate our existence, and are talked about in scripture as being the condition to which we will return.  It would seem then, that city life, or rather perfect city life, is something we are destined to share.

The question then is what makes a city?  Why does scripture describe the location of God the Father as being in a city?  I think the answer may be found in examining as we described earlier the only common element to country-living, wide open spaces.  Cities tend to be “full” of people, or in this case, intelligent beings.  The angels occupy heaven.  Ever thought about why?  There is at least one incredibly expansive universe which God has created.  It contains galaxies which are huge each holding stars/suns beyond measure, that could each have planetary systems with possibly many planets.  In terms of where a person or angel might be found, it makes for an infinite game of hide-and-seek.  So why hang out in the city of heaven, if literally every single other place in the universe is available for touring, or residence?  Do you think angels perhaps like us, require companionship in order to be truly happy?  Begs the question, how can one serve, if one is alone?  Or is it perhaps that all life just tends to gravitate towards being close to God?

Perhaps gravity is more than dropping an apple from a tree, perhaps it is being inexplicably drawn to the source of all life and love.  It would seem logical then that to comfortably accommodate all the angels and life forms (soon to be us) that wish to be near God, a “city” would emerge.  Proximity to God is a measure of “value” that perfect beings aspire to attain.  Lucifer used to occupy the third-highest position in the kingdom of heaven before his fall.  While Christ was on the right hand of the Father, Lucifer at that time the archangel (or leader of the angelic hosts) was on the left.  Until he chose to break trust with God and explore self, he did not realize that Christ was closer to God than himself.  In a government where the highest leader is also the highest servant of all, it is hard to distinguish differences in “rank”.  In the perfection of heaven, expressing unselfish love is the highest ambition any life form can achieve.  Indeed the entire un-fallen angelic host lives to serve our God in any way they can.  It remains their highest ambition, and is perhaps the greatest reason they choose to remain as close to God as they are able to do (i.e. city life), rather than explore regions of the universe at the far ends of space.  Angels it would seem, go where they are needed, but highly prefer the company and proximity of God.

Another point of interest emerges when considering our destiny towards city-life; cities may sprawl outwards, but they tend to rise upwards just as often.  The “skyline” of a city reflects a number of buildings that rise upwards towards the sky, often found in groups right next to each other.  In order to accommodate large numbers of people, residents of a city often have “homes” located on different floors of the towers that rise near the center of a city.  It would seem logical then, that to house the hopefully vast numbers of humans that accept the gift of freedom from evil in our new and perfect location, we might find the homes our Lord has created for us in structures that rise upwards, not just sprawl outwards.  In point of fact, John identifies that the heavenly city is as tall as it is wide and long.  And no, I do not imagine a Borg-Cube when I think about heaven, but I might imagine more of a city whose skyline looks more like the pyramids of Egypt.  The throne building being the center piece and rising to a higher point than any other structure, but having many tall structures around it that may rise to various heights, getting perhaps a bit shorter as they sprawl outwards to the walls of the city.  Regardless of how the height is architected, it is certain that height is a part of the equation.  And it would seem logical that height is meant to provide us with the “homes” our Lord is making.

As for opulence and beauty, I can think of no better architect than our Lord and creator.  It was He after all who created the elements like gold and pearl in the first place.  I would imagine that a penthouse home architected by Jesus Himself would be personalized for each child He redeemed, with elements that just that person would love and appreciate.  I doubt any two homes would be exactly alike.  And I would expect perhaps that my home, and the home of my wife, might be an adjoining apartment with nothing but a set of double doors separating the two (if that).  The weird thing for me to consider is the modified use of my two normally favorite rooms (the bedroom and the bathroom).  Toilets will be no more so that will be huge change for me.  I guess it also leaves more room for the bathtub.  But then too, will I still need a sink?  Won’t need makeup, not sure if I still need to brush my teeth or shave.  Will I still need to comb my hair, or will it just shake out dry as I need it to?  Perhaps there will be no need of sinks either.  Even the bathtub may be more a device of recreation than necessity.  Do you think we will even get “dirty” in heaven.  We won’t smell, so how does one define “dirty” anyway?

The bedroom too (in my new city apartment) may be a bit of an unused room.  In the city, there is no need of a sun, as God’s very presence makes it bright as noon-day perpetually.  In this situation I imagine we will be eternally energized just from being near Him.  We won’t need sleep in the city, and therefore a bedroom might be a bit superfluous.  How do I nap after all if I just can’t get tired; too excited, too happy, too energized.  Why would I even want to attempt a nap under those conditions?  Would I even want to lay down?  Which begs the question, how much use would I even have for this penthouse home?  I will not have an extensive wardrobe that requires a place for storage.  My clothing or coverings will be made of light (adjusted to the colors and shapes I can envision at will), so closets seem unneeded.  I won’t have medicines, make-up, or toiletries so cabinet space in the bathroom may not be needed.  It could be that the newly-highest-used-rooms in my home may be the kitchen, and dining room.  That one I could really get in to, perfect ingredients to serve perfect meals to my perfect family and friends.  Perhaps the new best function of our heavenly homes will merely be a place for us to talk with each other, eat with each other, and hang out with each other.  Certainly a bit different perspective than what we think of today in our homes.  Today our homes are a refuge from society, in heaven they may be a focal point of it.

I might liken our homes in heaven, to a hotel room in Las Vegas.  A place with a beautiful view, and perhaps all the essentials we might need; but everything in Las Vegas is designed to keep you out of your room as much as possible.  In Vegas these intention may be less than noble, but in heaven the concept may be similar with the extreme exception that everything in heaven will be designed with perfect intentions, motives, and actions.  Still we may be so busy, or so excited, or just so interested in the people and activities around us, that spending a great deal of time “in our homes” may not enter our thoughts that much.  Our homes may make Donald Trump’s apartment in New York look like a slum, but the things we value in heaven are much more the people, than the stuff.  After all, gold is nothing more than concrete in the city we are destined to have a home forever within.  It may be beautiful concrete, but concrete is concrete none-the-less.

One might deduce from the emphasis scripture places on the heavenly city, that our future destiny includes only a city life.  It does not.  To realize this, one need only look back to our Genesis, both Adam and Eve were given a garden home, not a city high rise apartment.  God’s idea of country-living was a particularly perfect garden in an otherwise perfect world.  When after Lucifer, man broke trust with God and embraced self and evil, he was “driven” from the perfection of his garden home.  There was a distinction between Eden, and it surroundings.  The whole of planet earth was not considered Eden, only the area where God had planted it.  A gate marked the entry point for Eden, and until the flood, it was guarded by an angel with a flaming sword.  It is believed that just before the flood, God took the garden to heaven to preserve it, perhaps make it the “central park” of heaven, perhaps return it to Adam and Eve once evil had been ended once and for all.  It is speculation.  But where God chose to make man’s first home is not speculation.  It was decidedly country living not city.

It may be that heaven requires a city in order to accommodate all of the residents who wish to be close to God.  But the re-creation of our world after evil, after hell, and after death itself is finally consumed (as described in Revelations), is the re-creation of our entire world.  Our world will be “made new”.  We are not destined to live in a city surrounded by the destruction and remnants of a world steeped in sin at the time of our Lord’s second return.  Nor are we destined to live in a city, now transplanted to Jerusalem’s earthly locale, only to be surrounded by the death and tortured torments of the wicked burning forever just beyond our gates.  No, the world’s destruction remnants from the time of Christ’s return will be completely consumed in the hail of fire, and lava that consumes Satan, evil, and all who refuse the freedom from self that our God offers.  Our world will burn, and evil will be consumed in the flames, as will pain and death.  They will be removed forever.  They will cease to exist forever.  In that sense, the finality of God’s judgment will be eternal.  But they will also be removed from our sight, and our memories forever.  We will not go through the eons of time, lamenting our role in the evil we embraced, nor missing those who refused the embrace of love our God had offered them all.  All of that past will sleep the sleep of non-existence.  Our tears must be wiped from our eyes.  And for those who refused His mercy, the finality of His judgments are all that can be left to them.  But John is specific in his writings that our world will be made new again.  Heaven’s location may be fixed at Jerusalem’s old locale, but the rest of the planet will be getting an extreme makeover.

It is out into this newly created world that we will also go to make our own homes.  In this, we will have both a city home, and a country home.  Located away from the city of heaven, and thus a bit farther away from the direct presence of God, the cycle of night and day will once again become relevant.  The sun will rule our day, and the moon our night, as it once was in the garden home our Lord first created.  It is there where a bedroom may finally be needed again.  It is there where the relevance of Sabbath will re-emerge.  For the Lord Himself marked the Sabbath by measuring the time of days with the rising and setting of the sun.  And the prophet Isaiah discusses the idea of Sabbath and … “from one new moon to another” in his forecasts of heaven.  These ideas of timing around the rising and setting of the sun can only be relevant away from the city center, where the presence of God outshines the sun.  It stands to reason then, based on God’s original designs, and his indications of his eternal intentions, that we will live, or have homes, in more than one place.  We will be both city-dweller and country-dweller. 

Though no matter where we hang our crowns so to speak, how we live and what we value, will have transcended from a focus on self, to a focus on others.  Whether we entertain guests in our city or our country homes, the precious company of a guest, will be the prized commodity.  It will not be our beautiful hand crafted furniture, or pride in our architectural and engineering achievements we wish to discuss, but the testimony of a life spared by love.  We will never grow tired of hearing how God redeemed you, how He freed you, and what He is doing with you and for you even right now.  Those stories will not be merely past tense, but present and future as well.  God will ever be interacting with us all.  He will be among us, with us, able to see us face to face without fear or shame on our part.  We will know Him, really know Him.  Imagine the honor, of offering our Lord a home cooked meal for His enjoyment.  It will not be the design or finery of the china that will be our first concern, only that He is coming to see us today.  It will not be comparisons of how our home exceeds that of our neighbors, in heaven, were that true, we would gladly give our home to our neighbors just to see them happy.  No, in heaven, to be with God is the reward.  To hold companionship with those who are precious to us, literally every living soul, is our reward.

Our homes in heaven are nothing more than a place to hold events, a place to serve, a place to gather, a place to recount the infinite mercy and love of our God.  There will be no homeless in heaven.  There will be no poor.  But how we measure wealth will have radically changed.  How we measure the value of the company of another will have radically changed.  A home in heaven can only be understood in this context.  Our thinking will change, starting here and now, as we surrender to Christ, and allow Him to re-create us anew from the inside out.  Heaven will be the culmination of that work, not its beginning.  Heaven will be the place where the work of re-creation within us can be fully appreciated.  It is only when our thinking has been made new, our desires have been made new, and our values systems completely made new, that we can finally begin to appreciate what our homes might be like, and what is truly important within them.  A change in how we think, a change in how we love, this is the beginning of freedom from self that our God offers us freely.  It is the beginning of wisdom, and why when we reach heaven, our definition of “living” will be something completely different than it is today, no matter the locale of our homes in perfection.