Steven A. Bush - September 19, 2021
Our Turn in the Stadium
Acts 2:42 gives us a beautiful picture of the early church: "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (ESV) A couple millennium have passed since then. God's church remains on mission here while heaven continues filling with those who await resurrection. Scholarly theologians have long debated whether those who've died and gone to be with the Lord are aware of what's going on here. One passage that hints at the possibility is Hebrews 12:1 which says: "So since we stand surrounded by all those who have gone before, an enormous cloud of witnesses, let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us." (VOICE) If indeed from their seats in the celestial stadium they see us, are they seeing things that make them cringe or seeing things that make them smile, rise to their feet, and cheer aloud? While that's uncertain, one thing we do know--the Lord sees all. And it's that Audience of One for which we live and love and serve. No matter who else sees, may we make Him who sees all things, very very glad, especially how we treat one another...