The suburbs of heaven ∙
You will show me the path of life, grant me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. – Psalms 16:11
Ephesians 3:19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
The Scottish Puritan Samuel Rutherford once declared, “Live in Christ, and you are in the suburbs of heaven.” This profound statement addresses one of the greatest struggles for every child of the King: experiencing joy amid life’s circumstances.
In Rutherford’s seventeenth-century context, the “suburbs of heaven” referred to a “land of praises” and “the fairest of created paradises.” It is the place where there is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Rutherford speaks of proximity. Those who dwell in the suburbs live as close to the city as possible without actually being in it. This is Rutherford’s point. When you and I “live in Christ,” there is but a thin wall between us and the land of praises.
When children of the King “live in Christ,” they position themselves just outside heaven’s gates. They are as near to heaven as they can be without actually entering. In this spiritual suburbia, they catch glimpses of the “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” that Psalm 16:11 describes. Often, these are fleeting flashes or tiny glimpses, for the complete experience is reserved exclusively for when they actually arrive at heaven itself. Nevertheless, we can come close and know genuine joy and lasting pleasure in this life. When we do, we find ourselves in the “suburbs of heaven” (Guy M. Richard).
The splendor, grandeur, pulchritude, magnificence, and sheer delightfulness of heaven are beyond anything we can imagine or predict. Many children of the King once lived in utter darkness, far from the light. They existed in squalor and ugliness, within a world lying in the arms of the evil one, under his dominion (1 John 5:19). They were doomed, far off, strangers, and aliens (Ephesians 2:17,19). Far worse, they were dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1).
But then, at the moment each of us accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, everything changed. Those who were far off were brought near.
Ephesians 2:13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once, you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
REFLECT & PRAY
“Many of us are missing something in life because we are after the second best” (Eric Liddell).
Father, I thank You that I am in Christ forever and will dwell in Your presence forevermore. I pray that with each passing day, I may draw nearer to You for the rest of my life on earth.
INSIGHT
Geographically speaking, imagine we once lived in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Juneau, Alaska, or the Florida Keys. When we became children of the King, we moved to the state of Iowa. Previously, we resided in the Kingdom of darkness; now, we are in the Kingdom of light.
We are currently within the state, but the King Himself resides in the capital, Des Moines. How can we approach our King and get closer? How do we reach the suburbs of Des Moines?
To live in the suburbs of heaven, Samuel Rutherford encouraged us to “Live in Christ.”
What does it mean to live in Christ?
Living in Christ encompasses three key elements: knowing, recalling, and living.
To begin with, it is essential to fully grasp that every child of the King is in Christ. This understanding forms the foundation of our faith and shapes our perspective on life. It is crucial to constantly remind ourselves of this truth and to believe in it firmly. Finally, we are called to actively live out this reality each day, allowing it to guide and shape our thoughts, actions, and interactions with others.
When we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we had an encounter with Him. Some of us had dramatic experiences, while others had more subtle ones. Regardless of our individual experiences, each of us has been inwardly transformed. We were placed into Christ when this encounter happened (1 Corinthians 12:13), and Christ came to live within each of us (1 John 3:24).
1 John 4:13 God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
We must continually bring this truth to mind. Our fallen nature often causes us, even though we are the children of the King, to momentarily forget that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us. We must regularly look back and remember our first encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.
“The Christian life continues as it commenced: just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him” (BKC). God saved you by His grace when you believed, and you cannot take credit for this; it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).
Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
The apostle Paul had insights that few other children of the King ever considered. He fully understood what it means to be in Christ and to live in Christ. Consequently, Paul completely redefined life as we know it. It is a profound paradigm shift. For Paul, to live is Christ! He regarded his life as inseparable from Christ.
Galatians 2:19 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
There is a significant difference between merely knowing the truth and experiencing the power of the truth (John Owen). When we focus on applying the realities of our new position in Christ and His presence within us, we move closer to genuinely experiencing this truth. This is what Owen, along with many other Puritans, emphasized. We need to diligently meditate on these truths and contemplate how they apply to our lives (Guy M. Richard).
To live in Christ is to strive to keep our hearts and affections focused on Him and allow His life force to flow through us. As we do, we begin to experience what Paul experienced.
Galatians 2:19 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 16:11 is unsurpassed for the beauty of the prospect it opens up, in words of the utmost simplicity. The path of life is so-called, not only because of its goal but because walking that way means living, in the true sense of the word, already (Kidner). The path of life leads into the Father’s eternal presence.
The joys and pleasures are totally and eternally satisfying and endlessly varied, for they are found in both what He is and what He gives (Kidner).
“The pleasures of heaven will be far beyond any pleasures we have known here on earth, and as we enjoy the Lord and serve Him, we will not be restricted or encumbered by time, physical weakness, or the consequences of sin. So magnificent are the glories of heaven that the apostle John had to ransack human language to find words to describe it (Revelation 21-22)” (Wiersbe).
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© Dr. H 2024
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