God Can Use You!

Not too long ago, I wrote my autobiography. People have asked me why waited so long to do it. I suppose I felt I needed to live some more life first. I also felt there were some chapters still to be written in my own life.

I heard about a 15-year-old celebrity who is writing their autobiography. How much life have you lived at 15?

I, on the other hand, know that I am on the "back end" of life now, not the front end. I figure I have more life behind me than before.

Writing my autobiography was both hard and helpful. Hard because I had to dig up some old memories I would have rather left buried. Helpful because I have been able to see the "big picture" a bit better and marvel at how God has taken the "bad things" of my life and used them for His glory.

It was interesting that many people who read the book said the same thing: "I did not know you went through all of that!" They knew me as "Pastor Greg," the guy who preaches from the Bible. They didn't know me as the kid with the seven-time divorced mom from the alcoholic home who once used to party, drink, and even do drugs for a time!

I don't boast of these things; quite the opposite. I only tell my story to point people to His story. But I feel it can glorify God to see how He can take a life that has the "deck stacked against it" in practically every way and redeem it.

My life pales in comparison to different people in the Bible that God used. The Bible is replete with stories like this that are far more dramatic then mine.

Reminding us that God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. God may not have called you to be a pastor or a teacher or a missionary, per se. But it is clear that He is looking for a person to show Himself "strong on behalf of."

Think of all the ordinary people He has used to turn the world upside down. But also consider how utterly unqualified so many of them were.

• Noah got DRUNK.
• Abraham was too OLD.
• Jacob was a LIAR.
• Gideon was AFRAID.
• Rahab was A PROSTITUTE.
• Jeremiah and Timothy were considered TOO YOUNG.
• David had an AFFAIR.
• Moses was a MURDERER.
• Elijah was SUICIDAL at one point.
• Jonah RAN FROM GOD.
• Peter DENIED CHRIST.
• The Disciples FELL ASLEEP while PRAYING.
• The Samaritan Woman WAS DIVORCED five times.
• Timothy had AN ULCER.
• John the Baptist ATE BUGS.
• And Lazarus WAS DEAD!

So what's your excuse?

This is not to condone what any of these people did, but it is to say that God used all of them!

A Real Place for Real People

But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

— Hebrews 11:16

The Bible has much to say about what heaven is like. First, heaven is an actual place. Jesus told His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Heaven is a real place for real people, and when we get there, it will be amazing and fantastic.

The Bible uses a number of words to describe heaven, including "Paradise." Jesus said to the thief on the cross who came to his senses, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). The Paradise Jesus was speaking of, literally translated, is a word that would have been used in the first century to describe the garden of a king. It is hard for us to imagine how luxurious and splendid this would appear to someone living in this time. If you were a relatively impoverished person and were given the privilege of going into the walled garden of a king, you would be overwhelmed by the fragrance and beauty of it all. So "paradise" was a point of reference for people. Although limited, it gives us a sense of how heaven will overwhelm our senses.

The apostle Paul died, went to heaven, and came back to earth. In describing his experience, he said he was "caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Corinthians 12:4). Heaven will be better than anything we could imagine, and Scripture gives us descriptions and hints of what it will be like.

So what does it mean for us today? If we are heavenly minded, then it will affect the way we are living on earth. And if it doesn't affect the way we are living on earth, then how heavenly minded could we really be?

Longing for Heaven

"And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God."

— Job 19:26

In his excellent book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn writes, "God is the only one we really long for. His presence brings satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God. . . ."

Heaven is the dwelling place of God himself. In a broad sense, God is everywhere. The psalmist wrote, "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). God is everywhere, but in another sense, He dwells in heaven in all of His glory.

We long to be with God. We long to see God. But if God were to show himself to us today, we couldn't handle it, because God is perfect and flawless and holy, and we are imperfect and flawed and unholy.

One day Moses said to God, "Please, show me Your glory." God couldn't do that for Moses, because no one can see God and live. But He did say, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" (Exodus 33:19).

There is coming a day when you will see God. Job said, "And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26). That will happen when you get to heaven. And seeing God will be like seeing everything else for the first time, because not only will you see Him, but He will be the lens through which you will see everything else: people, yourself, and the events of this life.

We long for heaven, but this longing is really a longing for God himself.

Think Heaven

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

— Colossians 3:2

When I lose my cell phone, I will get another phone and dial my number in an attempt to find it, hoping it is not on mute. Then when I hear it ringing somewhere, I will go on a search to find it. It is a single-minded, active, and diligent investigation. That is what the apostle Paul was speaking of when he wrote, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). That is how we should be looking at heaven.

Another way to translate this verse is, "Think heaven." In the original language, the verb is in the present tense, which could be translated, "Keep seeking heaven." So to put it all together, the apostle Paul was saying, "Constantly keep seeking and thinking about heaven."

So how can we be thinking about heaven? What is our point of reference? The problem is that we have a caricatured version of heaven in mind. We are not going to sit around on fluffy, white clouds, spending eternity in boredom. The Bible has a lot to specifically say about heaven.

That is why, when people write books about their alleged experiences of dying and going to heaven and returning to earth, it takes me to the pages of Scripture. It is not true if it contradicts Scripture. I know that I need a better source, a more authoritative source on heaven. I turn to Scripture so that I can know how to think when I think about heaven.

Even though our feet must be on earth, our minds should be in heaven. Yet many of us will go through a day, even a week, without a single thought of heaven. As Warren Wiersbe said, "For the Christian, heaven isn't a simply a destination; it's a motivation."

The Tug of Heaven

"We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace."

— 1 Chronicles 29:15

Ever since childhood, I have always been a fan of Disney, even more so when Walt Disney was the creative genius behind the entire Disney empire. Like many of my generation, I was raised watching The Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of Disney. And I remember when Walt Disney unrolled a set of architectural plans across his desk and said to his television audience, "I want to tell you about something we are building now called Disneyland."

It was like the Promised Land to me. I could hardly wait to get there. And sure enough, every year I insisted that my mom take me to Disneyland for my birthday. I remember making a vow as we approached the park with the Matterhorn in view, that I would go to Disneyland every single day when I became an adult. (I haven't done that.) I was drawn to Disneyland because it held so much promise.

Disney was a dreamer who, deep inside, longed for something. He imagined a better world. You might even say that he was trying to create a heaven on earth. And Disney was that way for the same reason you are the way you are: you have been prewired to want something more in life. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that we have been born with eternity in our hearts. That is unique to humankind, to men and women uniquely made in the image of God.

We are on a quest because we long for something more. As Christians, we realize that our citizenship is in heaven and that our life on earth quickly passes. And as we know more about what is in our future, we begin to see this world for what it is. We know there is a heaven, because we can feel its tug.