I pondered this question, knowing that we have no answer. Some things we must take on faith until the time for their revealing. Yet there are those who have tried to tell us. To reveal our ignorance should not take a two part video. But there are those who try to fake it, and who should know better.
A common answer is "Serve." That doesn't help much. It's like asking about a job and being told it involves "work". So, I continue to ponder. I have no answer.
Some believe it will be a continuing use of our spiritual gifts, but these are given to serve the church in a worldly situation. Will there be two aspects--one to run the world during the millennium, and another in the eternal state afterwords?
The first is plainly the role of Israel and is revealed in the gospels as ruling over cities. Will angelic or church leaders assign us jobs? I imagine a giant board showing positions to be filled. Or a roll call where our names are called and jobs assigned. Will we have off duty times when we can just enjoy our mansions?
Every attempt to even ask such questions is an extension or projection of our Earthly experiences. Israel's rewards are so tangible. But the future life and duties of the church remain a mystery. An extension of our roles in the temple or church is posited, but does not seem to fill the bill.
Like a teen aged job applicant's inquiries about retirement benefits, my questions are inappropriate. We have our job assignments for now in the church epistles. We will know our fates soon enough, in the world to come.
With one of my children there, I will admit to mulling over this question a great deal. For now, I tell myself that the trappings of this Earth, to which we have all become so familiar, do not exist on the next plane. Therefore, it is hard for us to understand with anything other than an Earthly and severely limited perspective. It's a bit like telling a blind person who has always been sightless, all he can see on a trip to Iceland ! Instead, I tend to tell myself that we will no longer be tied to our bodies which need to be fed and attended to almost constantly and which obstruct our awareness sometimes, and we will be given more senses than we had here on Earth and much more complete information. We can only speculate, but perhaps we will spend time with those we love on Earth and in Heaven, do important works for our Lord God, and visit the Aurora borealis while living in a timeless place without darkness. In any event, our souls sound busy !
ReplyDeleteLove and best wishes to you,