Since the spark to write this post happened while reading the lyrics to the song below, I suggest you look at them here before/while/after you listen to Coldplay's song. Either way, I hope you'll follow my trail of thoughts :)
The song mentions "heaven" and when I read this I was reminded of a discussion of heaven, eternal life, peace, salvation, and the Trinity in a book I am reading for my favorite class this semester, Theology Survey.
What I just said deserves a quick aside:
Now you may be thinking like Elle Woods' father in Legally Blonde that I don't need theology. Theology is for people who are boring and ugly and serious - and you, Brie, are none of those things. Well, the shock of my life has been (1) a theology class is one of my favorite classes not just of this semester, but of all time (2) theology, when applied, is anything but boring, ugly, and annoyingly serious. Surprisingly, this class is the class I laugh the most in.
End of aside.
So, back to heaven, eternal life, peace, salvation, and the Trinity. Topics like this should be short and easily summed up in a few sentences right? (note sarcasm) I'll try to keep it short and to the point. Also understand the vast number of conversations that can stem from what I will say and that I cannot possibly address all of them in this wee little post. Please know I am aware of the extreme complexities in each of these topics and I am only taking you on a train of thought I had earlier this evening. I am not attempting a discussion on how to solve or to ignore all of life's difficulties.
Heaven is sometimes understood as a peaceful place that good people will go to where they can do whatever they want and (my favorite part) eat whatever they want without the consequences (constant Pumpkin Spice Lattes for eternity - yes!!!). Simply drawing connections from Fairbairn's "Life in the Trinity", I think the world's idea of heaven is relatively equative with the world's understanding of peace, which Fairbairn explains as:
"the peace it [the world] gives us is merely negative - the absence of open hostility and conflict. All the world can hope for is a truce and this is part of the reason why most of us are conditioned to think that the best thing for us would be to eliminate the conflicts, concerns, and stressors of life." p. 69
He goes on to explain that this is not the type of peace that Jesus talks about giving us in John 14:27, rather the peace Jesus gives his followers is peace in the midst of the storm - a peace that does not depend on external factors:
"God offers a peace far more personal and more significant than what most of us even wish for - an internal peace that does not depend on eliminating the sources of stress and hostility." p. 70
Where does Jesus get this peace? It is the same answer to the question of how the Incarnation is possible in the first place, how God can be love and how He could love before he created a single thing. The answer is: the Trinity. As Fairbairn explains,
"For him [Jesus], the ultimate source of peace...is his relationship with the Father." p. 71
What does peace have to do with heaven, eternal life, and salvation? Jesus says in John 17:3 that eternal life is knowing the only true God and knowing Jesus Christ whom God sent. With an understanding that God's glory is not just His greatness, but also his presence with us, we can conclude along with Fairbairn:
"Eternal life is a deeply personal knowledge of the one who has shared from all eternity in the glory of the Father...Salvation is a person's sharing in the fellowship that unites the Father, Son, and Spirit."
In the Trinity is a perfect unity of substance (the Trinity being one essence and three persons) and a perfect unity of love. This second unity is what the Incarnation made available to all the world. It is the source of, and is in and of itself, peace, eternal life, and salvation. Christians do not simply model the relationship Jesus has with the Father, those who are "in Christ" possess this relationship - this unity of love. Sharing in this unity of love is possible through Christ alone because it is through believing in Him that anyone is adopted as a son or daughter of God:
"We are adopted into the same relationship [Jesus] has with the Father...incorruption and immortality (as well as other benefits of salvation) flow from the gift of God the Son himself; they are not the primary aspects of [participation in the divine nature]."
The benefits/gifts that flow from salvation in Christ are secondary. Our adoption as sons and daughters into the Trinity is first and foremost.
God's love never fails. Praise the Lord.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He [Jesus] replied, "...I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven...Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." -Luke 10:17,19-20,23-24
Simeon took him [baby Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation..." -Luke 2:28-30
