週一嗎哪
服事全球工商界
2007.4.2

復活節的省思：回家的喜悅

（編者註：在耶穌受難的前夕，祂說了這段鼓勵我們的話：「我去原是為你們預備地方去。我若去為你們預備了地方，就必再來接你們到我那裡去；我在那裡，叫你們也在那裡」（約翰福音14章2-3節）。因為下主日就是復活節，所以我們從藍登．艾爾康的暢銷書「天堂」中摘錄了以下的文章。這篇文章描述基督徒將來有什麼。）

我很喜歡看水族館裡來自海洋的魚類，但總覺得哪裡不對勁。牠們不屬於那裡，水族箱不是牠們的家。神造魚的時候，不是要牠們住在小小的玻璃箱中，牠們應該住在大海洋中。我想魚不知道有更好的地方，但我很想知道牠們的本能是否會告訴牠們，真正的家是在別處。我知道我們的本能告訴我們，這墮落的世界不是我們的家，我們應該住在更好的地方。神學家唐納．布洛渠說：「我們最大的痛苦不是焦慮，或甚至罪惡，而是想家（一種鄉愁或根深柢固的渴望想與神一起在家中）。」

基督徒的奴隸有一首歌唱道：「回家與神同在」，還有「馬車帶我回家」。基督徒總是將去天國認為是回家。當耶穌說祂去為我們預備地方，祂是說要為我們建立一個家。為了準備進天國，我們必需了解家的意義。

你曾否在一個旅程中，每個人都生病，每件事都出錯，旅遊變得很痛苦？那時你想要作什麼？想回家。在想像中，你可感覺到你舒服的床，享受家裡煮的菜，彷彿看到家人與朋友在壁爐前一起歡笑，談著你們旅行中那裡出錯。不論我們多享受在外的探險，我們還是期待回家。知道我們能回家，這信念會支持我們繼續往前走－－這就是天國對我們的作用。這會使我們繼續往下走，因為那是我們永恆的家、歡迎我們的避難所，它會等著我們，呼喚我們的名字。

我不想美化家。我知道許多人在家中有不愉快的經驗。但我們真正的家在天上。天家有我們屬世家庭的所有好處，而且好許多倍，但卻沒有一樣是不好的。

諺語說：「你無法回到原來那個家。」這意思是，當我們離家後，家改變了，我們也改變了。我們那個舊房子可能被破壞了、被賣掉了、重新整修過或荒廢了。相反的，當這一生結束時－－特別是當我們抵達新天新地時－－神的子女將可以第一次真正回家。因為我們在天上的家不會被燒毀、被水沖走、被風吹垮，我們不必擔心當我們回家時，家是否還在那裡。新天新地永遠不會消失，它會賦予「家」美好永恆的意義。

我們夫妻與家人、朋友度過許多美好的時光－－在聖誕節、在度假時或平常吃完晚飯後，而且我們會說：「再沒有比這更好的了！」不論你的生活有多困難，你一定說過這樣的話吧。你是否想到生命中有一次，即使很短暫，卻非常美好？但那不是真正的美好。

在新天新地裡，最普通的時刻都比此生最美好的時刻好。你想保留或持續此生最美好的時刻，但卻無法做到。但天國會比那更好，不需害怕生命會結束、悲傷會來臨、夢想會粉碎或關係會破裂。

我們的被造是為了一人和一個地方。耶穌就是那人，天國就是那地方。若你認識耶穌，我將會與你一起在那復活的世界。有我們所愛的主和我們所珍惜的朋友在一起，我們將一起開始最後的探險，一個壯觀的新世界正等著我們去開發並統治。耶穌將會是所有事物的中心，而喜樂將會是我們所呼吸的空氣。而且當我們想說：「再沒有比這更好的了！」那將會是真正的美好。


思想 / 討論題目
1. 這是一篇不一樣的「週一嗎哪」，但因為是復活節，所以適合在此時刊出。復活節快要來臨，這是基督徒最重要的節日。你對本文作者所說的，有何看法？

2. 你是否曾在一個非常好的地方，但內心深處還是非常想回家？請描述那狀況。

3. 你曾否非常享受某一段時光，你和作者一樣認為「再沒有比那更好的了」？現在回顧那段時光，是否還是那麼美好？

4. 若真有天堂（死後永遠的生命），這信念對我們如何過每一天的生活（我們工作的方式、我們與他人的關係、我們的重要決定），會有何影響？

註：若你有聖經請看有關此主題的其他經文，請看：
馬太福音28章1-20節；馬可福音16章1-20節；路加福音24章1-53節；約翰福音20章1-31節


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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
April 2, 2007

AN EASTER REFLECTION: THE JOY OF BEING HOME
By: Randy Alcorn
(Editor’s Note: On the eve of His death, Jesus offered these encouraging words: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). Since Easter is next Sunday, we offer this excerpt from Randy Alcorn’s best-selling book, Heaven, in which he describes what lies ahead for Jesus’ followers.)
When I see fish from the ocean in an aquarium, I enjoy watching them, but feel as if something's wrong. They don't belong there. It's not their home. The fish weren't made for that little glass box; they were made for a great ocean. I suppose the fish don't know any better, but I wonder if their instincts tell them that their true home is elsewhere. I know our instincts tell us that this fallen world isn't our home—we were made for someplace better. Theologian Donald Bloesch suggests, "Our greatest affliction is not anxiety, or even guilt, but rather homesickness—a nostalgia or ineradicable yearning to be at home with God."
Christian slaves sang of "goin' home to live with God" and a chariot "comin' for to carry me home." Christians have always thought of going to Heaven as going home. When Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us, he spoke of building us a home. To anticipate Heaven, then, we need to understand the meaning of home.
Have you ever been on a trip that became miserable, where everybody got sick or everything went wrong? What did you want more than anything? To go home. In your imagination you could feel your comfortable bed, taste a home-cooked meal, and picture the company of family and friends laughing together in front of the fire, telling stories about what went wrong on your trip. No matter how much we enjoy our adventures away, we anticipate coming home. Knowing we can come home is what keeps us going—and that's what Heaven should do for us. It should keep us going because it's our eternal home, the welcome refuge that awaits us and calls our name.
I don’t mean to romanticize home. I know many people have had terrible experiences at home. But our true home in Heaven will have all the good things about our earthly homes, multiplied many times, but none of the bad.
The adage says, "You can never go home again." It means that while we were gone, home changed and so did we. Our old house may have been destroyed or sold, been renovated or become rundown. In contrast, when this life is over—and particularly when we arrive on the New Earth—God's children will truly be able to come home for the very first time. Because our home in Heaven will never burn, flood, or be blown away, we'll never have to wonder whether home will still be there when we return. The new heavens and New Earth will never disappear. They'll give a wonderful permanence to the word home....
My wife and I have spent wonderful moments with family and friends—at Christmas, on vacation or simple times in the family room after dinner—and we've said those enchanting words: "It doesn't get any better than this." No matter how difficult your life has been, you have said this about some magnificent moment, haven't you? Can you think of even one time in your life when, even for a fleeting moment, that seemed to be true? Well, it isn't true.
The most ordinary moment on the New Earth will be greater than the most perfect moments in this life—those experiences you wanted to preserve or hang on to but couldn't. It can get better, far better, than this—and it will. With no fear that life will end or tragedy will descend, that dreams will be shattered or relationships broken.
We were all made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person. Heaven is the place. If you know Jesus, I'll be with you in that resurrected world. With the Lord we love and the friends we cherish, we'll embark together on the ultimate adventure, in a spectacular new universe awaiting our exploration and dominion. Jesus will be the center of all things, and joy will be the air we breathe. And even if we think "it doesn't get any better than this"—it will.
Randy Alcorn has written extensively about finances from a biblical perspective, including his books, Money, Possessions & Eternity and The Treasure Principle.

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Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. Admittedly, this is a different “Monday Manna,” but it is appropriate because Easter, the most important Christian celebration of all, is approaching. What is your general reaction to what Randy Alcorn is saying?






2. When was the last time you found yourself somewhere, even a very nice place, and down deep you still felt a longing to go “home”? Describe that time.







3. Have you ever had a moment – or longer – when you were enjoying yourself so much that you thought, as Alcorn suggests, “It does not get any better than this”? Looking back, does it still seem that way now?





4. If there truly is a Heaven – and eternal life after death – what influence, if any, should that belief have on how we approach life on a daily basis: The way we work? Our relationships with others? Our important decisions? Explain your answer.







NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review some other passages that relate to this topic, consider the following verses:

Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-53; John 20:1-31