Listening for May 12, 2008: The Beginning of Heaven, part one [2007-05-12]

There is no denying that for the believer there is an awkward and inelastic tension between the physical and the eternal world. Far worse it would be if there were none, however, for the believer is not meant to be at home here; it is not his home.

Something happens within the believer at the point of conversion. Because it is associated more with sanctification (progressive) than justification (immediate), it very often seeps into the consciousness over time--a gradual realization that she is dwelling in a foreign land, homesick for a place she has never seen. The conversation of her old friends begins to sound tinny, and strange; activities to which she was once drawn begin to interest her less; practices and concepts that were once utterly foreign, even comical in their strangeness, begin to seem comfortable--the start of new habits.

Though some may try, this metamorphosis is not from conscious effort. In fact, it doesn't work very well to mechanically speed the process along. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of flesh, and is best left up to Him.