Circuit Thoughts

As many of you know, I serve rural churches. I have served on two circuits and preached at multiple churches on a single Sunday. Some interesting things happen when you come into the next church to get ready for sermon number two or three that day.

One time I came into the church a bit early for the 11 o’clock service. There was enough time for me to get a cup of coffee and just sit and breathe a bit. The problem was, to get to the coffee maker, I had to pass through the Adult Sunday School Class. As I was making my way, hoping against hope that I drew no attention, the leader stopped me to ask a question.

“Pastor, is there a class system in heaven?’ I was a bit caught off guard. My response was “Huh?”. The leader went on to explain the thought process, “I mean, if I go to heaven, will my house be next to the disciples, or Mother Teresa, or what?”

In case you were wondering, this had nothing whatsoever to do with the sermon I was about to give, so I had to mentally shift gears and address the question. My response, “Personally, I don’t care. God could put me in an outhouse on the back 40 and I would still be in heaven.” This did not suffice, as I could tell by the look on his face.

Mark 9:30-37, is one example of Christ addressing this very question. The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them. Jesus tells them that if you want to be first, you must be last and servant of all. Then he tells them they must be like a child.

The answer to the question is, there is no class system in heaven. The class system as we know it is based upon individual and perceived merit. We earn our way to the things we have. We work for success and for higher status. Everyone is elevated to the height of their abilities in their chosen arena.

Heaven has nothing to do with our success. We can not get in on merit, or on worth. Because, as we are told in Romans 3:23, “ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This means, we cannot get into the kingdom. Fortunately, there is a caveat.

Christ is the Kingdom, and thus if Christ is in us, we can enter the Kingdom. You see, it is Christ’s merit, not ours that brings us to heaven. We are not meant to do it alone. But we must get rid of all the ego and self-worth that we deal with every day. That can only be done by accepting Christ as our savior and following only him.

If you want to know more, get to church, and talk to your pastor. Read your bible and get into a study group. Let Christ show you how to be self-forgetful. Let Christ show you the way to the kingdom.

See you in church.