On what do we base our confidence?
The Christian faith emphasises our connection to this world. Followers of Christ are called to stand alongside those who are ill or in despair. Christians get their hands dirty in order to fight destitution and hardship. But irrespective of how bleak the prospects are, our faith in God gives us a positive attitude. Martin Luther would have planted an apple tree today even if he had known that the world would end tomorrow.
Pandemics, dramatic climate change, distribution wars and broken societies turn the Christians’ focus to another dimension. The Bible calls this Heaven. Faith in God loses its foundation without the prospect of an afterlife. A place does exist where death, illness and injustice are a thing of the past.
It is our decision if we want to live there one day or not. The conditions of that world are totally different. In Heaven God not man sits on the throne and the way there leads through one person, namely Jesus Christ. 2,000 years ago the Nazarene said: “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me!“
For many in our 21st century society theology is something unrealistic and unfathomable. At Diospi Suyana we do not merely want to speak about faith but we make faith real and experienceable. Tangible faith in the midst of disorientation and fear.
Simon Khorolskiy, the US-American singer with Russian roots, has put this hope to music in a fascinating way. Enjoy the completely different music. You can activate the English subtitles; the German text is below. /KDJ
Revelation 21:1- 6
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
