Insensitive?

Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection. [Luke 20.34-36]

It is not uncommon today, when attending funerals, to hear some version of the following sentence: "We will one day be rejoined with our deceased loved one in heaven."

I am going to point out today that the very basis for making such a statement is contrary to Bible teaching.

What Jesus says in Luke 20.34-36 fits perfectly with what He said earlier regarding familial relationships:

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. [Luke 14.25-27]

God comes before family. In fact, God is to be first priority over any other relationship. While most Christians 'know better' than to disagree with these statements, their compliance should be measured, not with words, but with actions (because actions reveal what is truly believed). Nothing more reveals misplaced faith than a funeral... Grieving survivors take comfort that they will be reunited with their deceased loved one when they get to heaven, but is this truly what they should be rejoicing about?

The very idea that one would label the previous paragraph "insensitive" before considering its Biblical accuracy is proof positive of misplaced faith. "Misplaced faith" is idolatry.

Marriage, family and friends are indeed gifts from God. However, to measure our joy in heaven by the restoration of earthly familial relationships is just backwards from how God designed it. Familial relationships are given to us to enjoy relationship with God on earth. As insensitive as it may sound, familial relationships are a temporary 'type' of relationship with God on earth preparing us in advance for reunion with God in heaven. This thinking reveals a whole new facet to the following:

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6.10]

So, to focus on the reunion of loved ones in heaven at a funeral is borderline, if not full-blown, paganism.

But there's more... Because our relationships on earth are a precursor to our relationship with God in heaven, suddenly, our handling of these relationships takes on a whole new meaning! Relationships on earth are how we practice for our relationship with God in heaven! (Multiple mushroom clouds are exploding in my head right now...) Ergo, Jesus' statement below is much deeper than we first imagined:

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ [Matthew 25.40]

If earthly relationships are anything more or less than preparation for relationship with God in heaven, then, like Jesus said in the other two Gospel accounts of this same event, we don't know the Scriptures!

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. [Matthew 22.29 and Mark 12.24]

Perhaps this shift in thinking could shed further light on why Jesus was angry when He raised Lazarus from the dead...

Father, may we be found loving You in every relationship in our lives in preparation for our day of reunion with You in heaven. However, may we remain scripturally sound in anticipation that our earthly relationships will all transpose into pure relationship with You in heaven.