Disneyland and California Adventure

On our recent trip to the LA area, to speak and sign books at Riverside Church and Orange County’s “Thursday nights with Greg Laurie”, Nanci and I had some fun days at Disneyland and California Adventure. It’s great to be married to my best friend, and the most fun person I know. I love you, Nan!




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Winners of the christianaudio gift certificates

I'm happy to announce that the winner of the $50 gift certificate to christianaudio.com is Bridget (jbbbandb). Congratulations, Bridget!

Our two runners up, who will both be receiving $25 gift certificates to christianaudio, are:

Ken & Kathy (mills1095)
Ken Armstrong

Winners, you will all be receiving an email from me with further instructions. Thanks again to all who entered the giveaway, and again, be sure and check out christianaudio's free downloads this month!

Serving Him,

Stephanie Anderson
Eternal Perspective Ministries

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God Appoints Times and Places—and Snowstorms

Last week I took a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas to record three programs about my book If God Is Good with Family Life Today radio. The show will be airing probably in late spring or early summer. (Bob Lepine and Dennis Rainey, pictured here, are great brothers, and Eternal Perspective Ministries considers it a privilege to support Family Life Ministries, www.familylife.com.)

I had asked my Facebook and Twitter followers for prayer for divine appointments on my trip, and want to share how God faithfully answered those prayers. So this will be a longer blog than usual.

On Tuesday’s flight to Denver, en route to Little Rock, I sat in a window seat. Jackie, the woman on the aisle, had read some of my books and talked to me about them. Between us sat Joel, a seventh grader, a fine young man caught in the middle of our words about our Lord Jesus. I gave them both the Touchpoints: Heaven book and gave Joel my email address, encouraging him to contact me if he wanted me to send him The Ishbane Conspiracy.

When we arrived at Denver, the airport was buried in a blizzard and was in a pandemonium, with people stuck and half the flights cancelled. I arrived at B20, then had to walk to B90 (it seemed like two miles) to catch my flight to Little Rock. I got there, confirmed it was the right gate, and sat down to eat a sandwich. It was crowded so I offered a seat to a woman named Charlene, and ended up giving her The Promise of Heaven book. She seemed very excited and said she would read it on the plane.

After a pleasant conversation, I said goodbye, stepped over to my gate where boarding was supposed to start momentarily, and saw it now said “Toronto.” I asked, “What happened to Little Rock?” They said, “Everything’s messed up with the snow. Little Rock was moved to Gate 52.” I hurried back down a concourse I didn’t need to have traveled up, thanking God for His sovereignty and kindness in sending me “two miles” out of my way to meet Charlene, and give her a book with the gospel of Jesus. How else would I have met her when we shouldn’t have been anywhere near each other?

I spent six more hours in Denver, four of those in the plane on the tarmac, in the snowstorm, waiting for de-icing. Afterward, I gave The Promise of Heaven to Diana, the flight attendant who bonded with us because of being trapped in a plane on the ground for half the night. I checked into my hotel in Little Rock at 4 AM.

Would I have planned it that way? No. God had a better plan, and part of the reason the snowstorm hit Denver was for Charlene, Diana, and me, and maybe for the gal at the front desk of the Little Rock hotel I gave the Heaven booklet. And in eternity I’m going to hear some stories of what God ended up doing in some lives (including mine). Being tired when speaking and doing radio programs was a very small price to pay.

Meanwhile divine appointments continued. When I spoke at Family Life Wednesday morning, they announced that a long-time beloved staff member, Debbie, had died of cancer the night before. One brother stood up, held up my Heaven book and said, “Debbie read this book and was in a small group study, and it was a great encouragement to her. And in God’s perfect timing, the morning after she entered Heaven, the author of this book is here with us to talk to us about Heaven.” It was a moving time, with lots of tears, and I felt very privileged to be there to talk about the place where Debbie (I look forward to meeting her) is now with her Lord.

After speaking to Family life and recording the programs, I was taken to meet with forty or so international students, from a number of countries, including Iraq, Iran, India, Peru, Kenya and Rwanda. I was introduced as the author of books about Heaven, and they were invited to ask me questions. I also shared, of course, about how the Bible says we can get to Heaven. What a great opportunity, and what a great bunch of students, including Muslims, Hindus, and Christians.

One young man from Iraq followed me outside afterward. He shook my hand then said, “Do you really believe that trusting Jesus is the only way for someone to go to Heaven?” I said yes, reminding him that it wasn’t an idea I made up, but that I’d quoted Jesus as saying, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Since Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, that means he spoke the truth. And if he spoke the truth, then He is the only way to God.

I was struck with the earnestness in the eyes of this young man, and the sincerity of the question. And I thank God for the wonderful people who give of themselves to serve these international students, who will follow up in further conversations. They don’t just speak the gospel; they live it out, and students are drawn to their love and authenticity.

After arriving in a non-snowy Denver on the way home Thursday, I gave a Touchpoints: Heaven book to a guy named Richard I sat next to as we ate sandwiches in a sports bar. On the plane I sat by a sixty-five year old lady, Rene. When I offered to give her The Promise of Heaven she said she couldn’t take it because she was a Jehovah’s Witness. I said, “Don’t you believe what the Bible says?” She said yes, but that she believed the Bible teaches that God made people to live on the earth in a resurrection, not to live forever up with the angels. I said, “Right, you mean the New Earth.” She said yes. I said, “I agree the Bible teaches life forever on a New Earth, and that’s exactly what the book is about!”

She seemed amazed that I believe in a New Earth, but I assured her that the Bible clearly teaches it. I went on to share the basis on which we will be accepted into God’s presence and will be able to live forever on that New Earth. I went to John 1 and other passages about the deity of Christ and talked about that if he were less than God then his redemptive sacrifice for us would be less than enough, because only God’s own holiness can satisfy Him. We talked about salvation by grace, not works. And she ended up telling me that since I believed in a New Earth she would read that book after all!

Thank you, Lord, for putting me in these places and with these people where your Holy Spirit was at work. Please do a work of grace in their lives. And in the kingdom, may I one day sit beside some of them where they come from the east and the west to sit at a feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And above all, with You.


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The Annunciation and its Prolife Implications

Yesterday was the Annunciation, a Christian holy day most of us never think about. Ted Olsen, Christianity Today managing editor for news and online journalism, recently asked me my thoughts about the Annunciation and its prolife implications. Here’s Ted’s online article from Christianity Today:

More Important Than Christmas?
Why pro-life Protestants don't say much about the Annunciation—or the unborn Jesus.
Ted Olsen

In two days, Christians worldwide—Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox—will celebrate Palm Sunday. Because of differences in the calendars used by eastern and western churches, such a joint celebration is rare (and will be increasingly so).

But most evangelical Protestants are today sitting out as Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some liturgical Protestants celebrate one of the most significant events in the New Testament: the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.

One might expect American evangelicals to be among the most enthusiastic celebrants of what is known as the Annunciation. For starters, it focuses on two issues that theologically conservative Protestants have long defended against theological liberals: the historicity of the Virgin Birth, and Christ's unique divinity. In a theological sense, the Annunciation could be of greater significance than Christmas.

"It connects directly to the incarnation, while Christmas (whatever the true date) falls around nine months after the incarnation," says pro-life writer Randy Alcorn. "It is basic Christian doctrine that Christ became flesh at the moment the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, at the moment of fertilization. He became human at the exact point all others become human, the point of conception."

And so the Annunciation's implications are intensely political as well as theological. Few days on the Christian calendar, and few passages in Scripture, are so relevant to the abortion debate. For example, Alcorn notes that since Mary "hurried" to see Elizabeth (Luke 1:39) after Gabriel's visit, it's likely that Jesus was not yet fully implanted in Mary's womb when Elizabeth's unborn son, John, "leaped for joy" (1:41-44). That, he suggests, helps to eliminate hairsplitting over when personhood begins.

Some Protestants have attempted to draw out the pro-life implications of the Annunciation. The group Lutherans for Life, for example, offers bulletin inserts, sample sermons, and other resources to make March 25 a catalyst for fighting abortion. But most Protestant churches, if they have an annual service devoted to the unborn, instead commemorate the January 13 anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision with Sanctity of Human Life Day.

Part of the reason may be that the Annunciation has not historically been a day for the church to focus on the unborn in general.

"Until modern science made abortion such an easy thing (they had it in the ancient world, of course—hence ancient medical oaths against it—but it was fairly primitive and often dangerous), and also made us far more aware of life in the womb, it wasn't such a major social issue," says Anglican theologian and bishop N.T. Wright. "'Christian' societies knew, from the days of the Roman empire, that abortion and infanticide were basically pagan practices, so the question wasn't raised."

Click here to read the rest of the article.


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Hope in Discouraging Times

Several people have already asked about my response to the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill and its inclusion of abortion. Yes, I am deeply concerned about its effect on unborn children. However, even though this bill has passed, the righteous cause of the unborn is not over. The indictment against people who shed innocent blood is not over. The command of God is not over: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9). Be encouraged that the most direct and personal ways we can help unborn children and their mothers are still fully available to us. (See Fifty Ways to Help Unborn Children and Their Mothers.)

Here's an article I wrote a few years ago, called "The Gift of Hope." I think it's appropriate to share it now, when many people are feeling very discouraged about how things are going in the world and need some perspective.

There is a gift God has given his people in all ages that has enabled them not just to hold on, but to experience fulfillment even in times of great difficulty. This gift is hope.

Biblical hope is rooted in the fact that this life and its troubles are brief experiences relative to eternity. Paul said, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

The hope of the people of God is not merely a desire or wish. It is a confidence rooted in God's promise and God's faithfulness. It is a trust that is rooted in Christ's trustworthiness and the certainty of His wonderful plan for us. Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:1-3).

Jesus gives us no false hope. He guarantees that a day will come when He will reign and all things will be new:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God Himself will be with them to be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away' (Revelation 21:3-4).

(You've just read the end of the book. So now you know how the movie's going to turn out!)

The Bible shows us we are made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person, and Heaven is the place. The amazing central truth of the Christian faith is that Jesus went to Hell on the cross for us, so that by repenting of our sin and placing our trust in his atonement, we could go to Heaven with Him.

What is our ultimate hope? God's promise that because of Christ's redemptive sacrifice, the day is coming when all that is wrong will be made right. All that now hurts will be healed.

Hope is the light at the end of life's tunnel. It not only makes the tunnel endurable, it fills the heart with anticipation of the world into which we will one day emerge. Not just a better world, but a new and perfect world. A world alive, fresh, beautiful, devoid of pain and suffering and war, a world without disease, without accident, without tragedy. A world without dictators and madmen. A world ruled by the only one worthy of ruling. (See my book Heaven for more on this.)

What difference does hope make? All the difference in the world. A study was done in which one group of Israeli soldiers was told they would go on a march, but were not told if or when the march would eventually stop. Another group was told the length of the march. They knew there was an end.

Both groups were tested for their stress response. Although they marched not one foot further than those in the other group, those who did not know whether or when the march would end registered a much higher level of stress. Why? Because they had no hope, no tangible assurance that the forced march would end. They felt helpless, hopeless, wondering if they would ever be allowed to rest.

We do not know exactly how long we will be here, but we do know there will be an end. We will not march forever. We will rest. That is cause for certain hope. Even in times of greatest grief Christ leaves us with his hopeful assurance:

"You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy...Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy...I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:20,22,33).

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Jesus' Eternal Scars

A recent commenter on my blog asked, After reading of Jesus' resurrection, and how He showed the disciples His scars on His hands as proof of who He was, my children asked if we'll have our scars in Heaven, too. What do you think?

Yes, I believe Christ's scars are a dramatic exception to the rule. Why? Because the price of sin is not just death, but eternal death. No human being can transcend what is eternal, except Christ. So I think, in the space of six hours, He paid a qualitatively eternal price for us on the cross. The extent of that price is reflected in the permanent scars on His body.

The only one who did not deserve to pay an eternal price for sin is the one who did. (I do not mean that Christ continues to suffer, He doesn't. He died once for all. I just think the scars in hands and feet reflect the truth I'm talking about.) Another reason is perhaps that God wants it to be emphatic that Christ's resurrection body is the same as His original body, and not simply a new independent creation. This continuity is a critical point, and since His resurrection is the first fruits, the prototype, it tells us about ours.

I think it also reminds us that the incarnation of Christ is permanent. He became a man and will remain a man for all eternity. He will not simply appear to be a man; He will be an actual man forever.

Our scars and disabilities are the result of life in a sin-cursed world, not as a result of our paying a qualitatively eternal atoning price for sin, which of course we did not and could not. So when God says no more suffering and pain and death, and the old things are passed away (Revelation 21), that would mean we would be forever free from the bodily results of sin and curse.


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With Greg Laurie and Harvest Fellowship, on Heaven and Suffering

Sunday morning, March 7, I was with Greg Laurie and Harvest Fellowship in Riverside, California. Greg interviewed me about Heaven, and evil and suffering, and we opened the Word together. We did something similar last Thursday night in Orange County. (And in the meantime Nanci and I got to go to Disneyland, a nice little bonus!) To facilitate the interview, someone at the church built a Larry King-style interview desk. They did a beautiful job.

As background, Greg called me last year to tell me that my book Heaven had been a real encouragement to him in the wake of his son Christopher’s death in a car accident in the summer of 2008. I mention Greg a couple of times in If God is Good:

Three weeks after his thirty-three-year-old son, Christopher, died in a car crash, pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie addressed a crowd of twenty-nine thousand at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. “I’ve talked about Heaven my whole life,” Laurie said, “and I’ve given many messages on life after death. I’ve counseled many people who have lost a loved one, and I thought I knew a little bit about it. But I have to say that when it happens to you, it’s a whole new world.” The day his son died, he told the crowd, was “the hardest day of my life.”

When I spoke with Greg ten months later, his faith was strong, but his profound sense of loss remained. Pain is always local. It has a face and a name. And sometimes, for now, it doesn’t go away.

Greg told me, “What I wish is that I could have learned and grown and drawn close to the Lord just like I have, but that Christopher was still here.” Greg captured it perfectly—I too wish I could have all the good God has brought me, and will bring me, through adversity, but without all that pain and loss. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?

Nanci and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there in Riverside (including a couple of meals with Greg and Cathe his wife), the people of Harvest Fellowship, and the Thursday night event as well. Greg has a great passion for evangelism and is also a student of the Scriptures whose ministry is Christ-centered. Since Christopher’s death, their suffering as a family has been great, and we saw in them a depth and dependence on Christ. We found Greg to be authentic, with a real heart for Christ and for people. Harvest felt like a second home for us, and we are glad for our time there.

Here’s an eight minute video segment from one of the services:

Why is there suffering in the world today? from Randy Alcorn on Vimeo.



Click here to watch the full-length version of the service.


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Phil Vischer’s “What's in the Bible?” DVDs

While on a recent family vacation I pulled out an advance DVD of the first episodes of Phil Vischer’s “What’s in the Bible” (whatsinthebible.com). I asked my five-year-old grandson Matthew Franklin if he wanted to watch something by the guy who created VeggieTales. Of course he did. So we watched it together, and watched it again the next day and the next, bonus features and all, until the day we had to leave. Matthew is now a devoted fan of Buck Denver and the other characters who are part of this new series which I believe has great potential.

I was impressed with the depth of biblical background and commentary on God’s great drama of redemption. Yet it’s so engaging to children and adults (namely me) that it remained fun and entertaining throughout. My grandson Matt retained a great deal of the material, bringing it up days later. What a remarkable combination of entertainment and biblical substance. I envision parents learning God’s Word right alongside their children, leading to spiritually significant conversations, and heightened interest in Bible study, something we desperately need. I applaud Phil Vischer’s efforts, and eagerly look forward to watching more of “What’s in the Bible” with my grandchildren…and when they’re not available, maybe by myself!

Check out the theme song from the video:




(Click here if you're unable to view the video.)

I was asked to endorse this project and was glad to do so. When I sent him my endorsement, Phil Vischer, the creator of "What's in the Bible", wrote me back, "We're headed into uncharted waters here with this type of project, both because it isn't the sort of narrative storytelling that kids are used to, and also because we can't (and won't) shy away from the tricky issues of the Bible that most kids products completely ignore."

DVDs 1 and 2, "In the Beginning" and "Let My People Go," are now available at your local Christian bookstore, or online at Christianbook.com.


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Encouraging responses to Randy’s book If God is Good

by Kathy Norquist, Randy Alcorn’s assistant

I never realized how difficult and time-consuming it is to write a book until I started working for Randy many years ago. Observing the numerous stages of a book before it goes to print has given me a new appreciation for the work of an author. And what fun for Randy when he receives the first copy of his latest book in the mail—before it ever hits the bookshelves. It’s somewhat like the anticipation of the birth of a child and the day finally arrives!

Randy loves the fact that he gets to write books that can impact lives for eternity. But not only that, he and his wife Nanci have the joy of giving away 100% of all the book royalties (so far, close to $5 million) to worthy Christian ministries. We’ve often commented on what a win/win situation this is. Write eternity-impacting books, give away eternity-impacting money.

One of the many benefits of my job is getting to read the encouraging letters we receive in response to Randy’s books. This month I’d like to share with you some responses from If God is Good, along with a recent review in WORLD magazine. Since no endorsements have been published with the book yet, this is the first place these are being made public (names used with permission). And not long ago we received an endorsement from someone who I’m keeping as a surprise until the end of this blog :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the Biblical balance which you have brought to the toughest subject of all. I have grown weary of trite and surface responses to the question of suffering and evil. I will cherish this book and use it in my classes I teach, for it defines and clarifies so powerfully what God's Word teaches about our suffering world.

—Pastor Ted Davis, La Grande, Oregon

Few books have the ability to inspire and admonish, convict and challenge, compassionately touch the heart and biblically educate, all at the same time. Not only does Alcorn’s book do this, but it is also full of touching stories of the challenges, struggles, and triumphs of suffering saints. It contains valuable and easily understood doctrinal information that is significant for biblically interpreting suffering and the issues it raises. I am requiring If God is Good for my course on “A Biblical Theology of Suffering, Disability and the Church” here at Dallas Theological Seminary.

—Dr. Larry J. Waters, Associate Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary

If God is Good is a treatise on theodicy, yet written for the common reader. It fed my hurting soul with its logic, and most importantly, with its constant reminder of Jesus and the Father's goodness and love for me in my fractured world. It should be in Bible and seminary classrooms, as well as gifted to every hurting Christian and seeker who has been crushed (and many times embittered) by life's sometimes terrible circumstances. This is Randy Alcorn’s best and most important work to date. This isn’t just a home run, it’s a grand slam.

—Jim Swanson, Tyndale Senior Editor of Bible and Bible Reference

I just finished reading If God is Good and am starting to reread it. What an inspiration! As a pastor for many years and as a hospital chaplain for 26 years, I encountered the subject of your book on a daily basis. I was sorry to read of your own suffering, but I am sure you would probably not have written If God is Good had this not come into your own life—certainly it would not have been the wonderful contribution for the ages that it will certainly be.

—Rev. L. K., East Peoria, IL

I can’t put down If God is Good. I can’t think of a book I’ve enjoyed reading more. It’s phenomenal!

—Pastor Keith Krell, Olympia, WA

If God Is Good is more exciting than any novel could ever be. It is a book I would have given a lot for as a young pastor, but even more in my aging process as I seem to get so many referrals from my family and friends to help their friends and comfort the sick, bereaved, dying, and fearful. It is a monumental masterpiece of revelation of God’s will and plan in the mysteries of the unsearchables.

—Robert L. Simonds, President of the National Association of Christian Educators/Citizens for Excellence in Education

As a pastor, I have read many books on this critical topic; however, I have found Alcorn's work the most satisfying. Alcorn combines sound theology with relevant application. The book is filled with Scripture, interviews, illustrations, and critiques. Throughout it all, Alcorn is humble, gracious, and transparent.

— K.K.

I am a pastor and want you to know how much I appreciate your many books. I am currently reading If God is Good and finding it to be a treasure of wisdom and insight.

—D.H.

And now for the surprise you’ve been waiting for!

I have read just about everything Randy Alcorn has ever written. He is one of my favorite writers. In If God is Good, he bravely tackles one of the most difficult questions mankind has ever wrestled with. I found this book to be absolutely enlightening and encouraging. Thanks, Randy!

—Jeff Foxworthy, Comedian and Actor

Thanks for taking the time to read this, my first blog post. It was fun and I’ll be back again some time.

Kathy Norquist
Executive Assistant to Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspective Ministries
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March Giveaway: christianaudio gift certificates!

For this month’s giveaway, we’re teaming up with christianaudio to give away a grand prize of a $50 gift certificate to christianaudio.com, along with two runner-up prizes of $25 gift certificates. This is one giveaway you’ll definitely want to enter! (If you're reading this post Amazon or elsewhere, please don’t post your comment here! Visit Randy's blog to leave your comment and enter.)

christianaudio is a great resource for those who like to listen to books on audio. They offer many of Randy’s titles, along with thousands of other Christian audio books. (Each month they offer a free book download—this month’s free audio books are The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper.) You can also download several of Randy’s sermons and messages for free at christianaudio.com/epm.

How to enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 28. (If you're reading this post on Amazon or elsewhere, visit Randy's blog to leave your comment.)
• In order to qualify for the giveaway, you must include your contact information (a blog, e-mail address, or website), otherwise we cannot contact you if your name is drawn. (If you do leave an e-mail address, to avoid having it picked up by spammers, I recommend encoding it, such as: youraddress AT yahoo DOT com) Need help posting a comment? Click here for step-by-step instructions. For further assistance, contact me at stephanie@epm.org
• The three randomly drawn winners will be announced in a blog post on Monday, March 29, so be sure to check back and see if you won!

Stephanie Anderson
Promotions Director
Eternal Perspective Ministries
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The Spiritual Body: a Real Body

Someone recently showed me an article from a reputable Christian magazine that stated we will not have physical bodies in the future heaven, based on an (incorrect) understanding of the reference in 1 Corinthians 15 to a “spiritual body":

"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:42-29)

When Paul uses the term “spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44), he is not talking about a body made of spirit, or an incorporeal body—there is no such thing. Body means corporeal: flesh and bones. The word spiritual here is an adjective describing body, not negating its meaning. A spiritual body is first and foremost a real body or it would not qualify to be called a body. Paul could have simply said, “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spirit,” if that were the case. Judging from Christ’s resurrection body, a spiritual body appears most of the time to look and act like a regular physical body, with the exception that it may have (and in Christ’s case it does have) some powers of a metaphysical nature; that is, beyond normal physical abilities.

Paul goes on to say, “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. . . . We will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:49-50, 52-55).

When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” he’s referring to our flesh and blood as they are now: cursed and under sin. Our present bodies are fallen and destructible, but our future bodies—though still bodies in the fullest sense—will be untouched by sin and indestructible. They will be like Christ’s resurrection body—both physical and indestructible.

One Bible student told me that he couldn’t believe that the risen Christ might have DNA. But why not? Who created DNA in the first place? Christ explicitly said that his body was of flesh and bones. Flesh and bones have DNA. There is no reason to believe that his new body doesn’t. Is Christ a former descendant of Abraham and David, or is the glorified Christ in Heaven still their descendant? I believe his claim to rulership in the Millennium and on the New Earth depends in part on the fact that he remains—and will always remain—an actual, physical descendant of Abraham and David.

A body need not be destructible in order to be real. Our destructibility is an aberration of God’s created norm. Death, disease, and the deterioration of age are products of sin. Because there was no death before the Fall, presumably Adam and Eve’s original bodies were either indestructible or self-repairing (perhaps healed by the tree of life, as suggested in Revelation 22:2). Yet they were truly flesh and blood.

Scripture portrays resurrection as involving both fundamental continuity and significant dissimilarity. We dare not minimize the dissimilarities—for our glorification will certainly involve a dramatic and marvelous transformation. But, in my experience, the great majority of Christians have underemphasized continuity. They end up thinking of our transformed selves as no longer being ourselves, and the transformed Earth as no longer being the earth. In some cases, they view the glorified Christ as no longer being the same Jesus who walked the earth—a belief that early Christians recognized as heresy.

Many of us look forward to Heaven more now than we did when our bodies functioned well. Joni Eareckson Tada says it well: “Somewhere in my broken, paralyzed body is the seed of what I shall become. The paralysis makes what I am to become all the more grand when you contrast atrophied, useless legs against splendorous resurrected legs. I’m convinced that if there are mirrors in heaven (and why not?), the image I’ll see will be unmistakably ‘Joni,’ although a much better, brighter Joni.”

Inside your body, even if it is failing, is the blueprint for your resurrection body. You may not be satisfied with your current body or mind—but you’ll be thrilled with your resurrection upgrades. With them you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders he has prepared for you.


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Giving Comfort to Hurting People

People need to feel loved. A hurting child needs to feel his father’s arms around him. When the father is away, he may leave written words of love, as God has in his Word. But he may also call on the child’s older brothers and sisters to express his love to his child.

To ignore someone’s pain is to add to that pain. Instead of fearing we’ll say the wrong thing, we should reach out to hurting people. Many times it’s better just to put our arms around someone and cry with them; people almost always appreciate it when you acknowledge their loss. Yet so long as your heart is right, saying something is nearly always better than saying nothing.

There is a time for silence, to just sit and listen and weep with those who weep. We often condemn Job’s friends, but we should remember that they started well. When they saw his misery, they wept aloud. And then for seven days and nights they sat with him, in silence, wordlessly expressing their concern for him (see Job 2:11–13).

If we don’t know what to say to a friend in crisis, remember that so long as Job’s friends remained quiet, they helped him bear his grief. Later, when they began giving unsolicited advice and rebuke, Job not only had to deal with his suffering, but with his friends’ smug responses, which added to his suffering.

When someone in pain expresses raw emotions, we shouldn’t scold them. Friends let friends share honest feelings. When the premature and misguided correction of Job’s friends hurt Job, they didn’t have sense enough to say, “I’m sorry,” and then shut up. They went right on hurting him. So Job said to them, “Miserable comforters are you all!” (16:2).

Darrell Scott told me that after his daughter Rachel was murdered at Columbine, people often quoted Romans 8:28 to him. He wasn’t ready to hear it. How sad that such a powerful verse, cited carelessly or prematurely, becomes a source of pain when it should offer great comfort. Think of God’s truths like tools. Don’t use a hammer when you need a wrench. And don’t use either when you need to give someone a hug, a blanket, or a meal—or just weep with them.

On the other hand, Nancy Guthrie says sufferers should extend grace to the insensitive comforters who hurt them. The last thing a grieving person needs is to take on the burden of resentment. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Don’t disappear or avoid your friend who needs you now more than ever. My mother died in 1981, when I was a young pastor. Ten years earlier, not long after I’d become a Christian, I had the joy of leading Mom to Christ. We grew together, reading and discussing Scripture and great books, praying and laughing together, and later fussing over my children, her granddaughters, Karina and Angela. When she died, I mourned my loss, my wife’s, and above all my children’s. I felt like part of me had been taken away.

As I walked into church that first Sunday after Mom’s death, I felt as though my presence parted the Red Sea. Instead of greeting me warmly in their usual way, people stepped aside. I knew they did it because they didn’t know what to say, yet it magnified my loneliness.

Most of us have seen friends disappear when we most needed them—and without meaning to, we’ve done the same to others. If you find yourself not wanting to make a phone call when you hear about someone’s crisis, remind yourself that any expression of concern is better than none. When people lose a loved one, they don’t want to “move on” as if the person never existed. Even if doing so makes them cry, usually they want and need to talk about them.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). We tend to do better at rejoicing. Because we don’t like to feel pain, we tend to ignore others’ pain. But they need us to become the arms of Christ to them.

If we’re not there for them, who will be?



(Excerpted from my book If God Is Good.)

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