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HEAVEN'S LITTLE HELPERS #1
TWO GIRLS FOR EVERYONE
There's a dilemma I've never faced, but I've known
people who faced it big-time . . . and so today we want to think about
The Three Boyfriends. Actually, these men were all husbands. And the first
scenario is one I've seen repeated more than once.
In my years as a pastor, of course, I've been blessed to know many wonderful
Christian couples who have celebrated golden anniversaries. Fifty years
together . . . and certainly, being men and women of God, they had the
assurance of an eternity of fellowship. True, the Bible tells us we won't
be married in the New Earth, not in the way we are here. (More about that
later.) Still, these delightful, gray-haired partners were fully convinced
that when Jesus came again, they would continue, certainly, in one way
or another, to enjoy friendship and a special partnership of some kind
right into God's wonderful future.
Well, then, considering the senior citizen-ness of these good friends,
finally one would pass away. There would be a funeral, and we would think
with some sorrow about the few years of loneliness that lay ahead for
the survivor, but also with great hope, as Paul puts it, for the promise
of forever. "We do not mourn as those who have no hope." Sometimes
these couples have been part of our wonderful Voice of Prophecy "VisionBuilder"
family of major supporters; we'd meet them yearly as we gathered together
to celebrate and plan for the future of this radio work. Well, now just
that widow, or widower, would be there for those get-togethers.
And then, lo and behold, maybe just a year later, that elderly gentleman,
Bob, who had sat with Esther at the supper table for five or more decades,
would arrive the next year with Sylvia on his arm. A brand new wife! Wonderful!
we'd say. And there'd be some good-natured teasing around the dessert
table, and rejoicing that God had brought this new happiness to drive
away the grief.
But that brings us to a question, and I'll illustrate with a second story
we've mentioned before. Right here at the Adventist Media Center, about
ten years ago, a sweet, gentle worker — I'll call her Jenny — was suddenly
laid to rest. One afternoon, she took a quick break for a nap, and simply
did not wake up. A weakened heart had abruptly quit on her. Well, that
was painful. We all mourned, especially her husband and teenage son. She
was just in her early 40s, so this seemed like such a sad event. But again,
these two Christian men — father and son — believed in the resurrection,
believed in God's promises of a reunion, and so that helped. Some day
they'd be with Jenny again.
Not many months later, this man, who also worked right here in our Christian
media center, came to our producer, David Smith, with a question. It seemed
that God had already opened up some romantic doors, and he was now quite
interested in a lovely young lady just a few office doors down. Naturally,
he wondered about the decorum of a new relationship. How soon might be
too soon, and so on. But then this second question: "David,"
he asked, "in heaven, what will happen? I was with Jenny for so long.
And now here's Amanda. But . . . I don't like to think that throughout
all eternity, I won't somehow be with Jenny too. Or that she might be
all alone. How will God handle this?" Right here on planet earth,
in the state of California, with a very real aching heart and real loneliness
and hormones still all working, this Christian man was truly concerned
about the hereafter. What would God do, now that there was a kind of future
triangle looming? What was heaven's answer to this? Did Jesus' statement
about "no marriage in heaven" mean that all of the saved would
be single, celibate, self-contained, unfeeling robots, with no emotional
connections, no love?
Third story, and this one takes us back about 6,000 years to the very
first book of the Bible and the very first boyfriend. His name was Adam.
And he only had a girlfriend for about five minutes, because God performed
a wedding ceremony during their very first date on that Friday afternoon.
"Adam, meet Eve. I highly recommend her. Do you take this woman to
be your wife?" And they both said "I do."
But now we come to Genesis chapter three . . . and I'm sure all of you
know the story. Eve is tempted to sin — and she does sin. She listens
to the serpent and she's tricked by him. She eats the fruit. Verse six,
part one. In the very next sentence, verse six, part two, it says this:
"She gave also unto her husband with her: and he did eat."
Well, you say, where's the story? And what does this
have to do with the radio title for the week: HEAVEN'S LITTLE HELPERS?
Over in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul sheds a bit of additional
light on this sad little drama. In First Timothy two, he writes this:
"Adam was not the one deceived; it was the
woman who was deceived and became a sinner."
Many Bible students, in weighing this tragic Genesis
story, see a picture where perhaps Adam and Eve were temporarily separated
in Eden. Eve and Lucifer went one-on-one, and she was deceived. But when
she brought the fruit to Adam, he wasn't deceived. Listen as I share this
passage again, as expanded in the very interesting Clear Word amplified
paraphrase:
"The woman saw how good the fruit looked
as the serpent ate it. Suddenly she felt a strong urge to eat it too.
She plucked the fruit, took a bite and instantly felt a new surge of energy.
Excited, she took more fruit and ran to find her husband." Now notice
this next part: "When Adam saw her, he knew what she had done and
also what the consequences would be. But in the blush of her excitement,
she looked more beautiful than ever. He couldn't bear the thought of living
without her, so he quickly took the fruit and ate it also."
Now let's freeze the frame right there between Eve's
sin and Adam's. She was tricked, but his eyes are wide open. He knows
the ramifications of what she's done. She's got the fruit there, offering
it to him, but he hasn't touched it yet. He knows what God has said, that
rebelling in this way is fatal. Is Eve going to die? Is he going to be
alone again, like he was before?
And you know, in a way, he faced the same question as the two men I mentioned
earlier. Here's a dilemma. Someone you love is either gone, or it appears
that the rules dictate that she be gone. How can you go on without her?
Can even God find an answer?
I've got an old, old book in my library that is really excellent in painting
a picture of how Adam likely wrestled with this horrible, poignant moment.
What will he do? Eve is right there in front of him. He can't bear the
thought of losing her. Now, he's not fooled; no way. In fact, his mind
is pounding with what's at stake. Will he choose God, or this beautiful
bride? Put it another way. Will he figure there's no way out of this mess,
no solution to the impending execution and loneliness he's going to feel,
or will he lock arms with Eve, join her in sin, and share her destiny?
The writer of this classic book, entitled Patriarchs and Prophets, puts
his mental process in these terms:
"[Adam] did not realize that the same Infinite
Power who had from the dust of the earth created him, a living, beautiful
form, and had in love given him a companion, could supply her place."
In other words, he decided that even though God had
created him, and God had created her, that God wasn't able to create a
fix for this problem. So, out of what he thought were his limited choices,
he made the worst possible decision.
Now, friend, let me be very honest. What would God have done if Eve had
sinned, but not Adam? I don't know. None of us do. Such a conjecture creates
an entire new corridor in what time-travel enthusiasts call the space-time
continuum. I do know that God would have set the entire Calvary model
into motion just for Eve . . . instead of for all of us. But how would
God have handled this? I don't know. But I know God would have been ready,
creatively ready, lovingly ready, powerfully ready, unstoppably ready
— to honor Adam for obedience instead of lack of faith. Somehow God would
have made it work.
And back to my Christian friends who remarry, not knowing or understanding
how God will resolve what seems to them a problem. I don't know heaven's
solution for that, for the many human triangles of honest-hearted affection
that may step up to the pearly gates. There stands Bob with Wife #1, Esther,
and Wife #2, Sylvia. It reminds us of that old Beach Boys song, Two Girls
For Everyone. But friend, I have every confidence that what appears to
us a problem is not a problem and never will be a problem for the Kingdom
of God.
That's why we didn't simply choose the title: GOD'S HELPERS. No, you and
I are God's little helpers. With our woefully inadequate, human, shortsighted,
bifocaled vision, we so often can't see how God might solve our problem.
So with our little shovels and pails, we begin to dig into the mountain
of our own doubts. We forget an answer Jesus gave which abides and endures
regarding all times and all mountains. Luke 18:27:
"What is impossible with men is possible
with God."
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