I feel like I can't relate to God or other Christians

[Jamdoc]

as I was out in the garden today I just.. think about how I just don't feel like I was meant for heaven.
all the grandiose, all the jewels and gold, all the big choirs singing praise and harps of gold and glory glory glory glory ...
to me that's just all disappointing and meh.
I know this is going to come across really wrong but.. when I hear "glory" I think "ego stroking" I think trumping things up. I think tacky. I think obsequious displays. I think of a fat king lounging on a golden throne adorned in jewels basking in obsequious worship displays while being fanned and fed grapes. A stereotype. A stereotype that I hate.
But other people love that sort of thing. Other Christians especially.

to me a garden has more appeal than a temple
a beach more appeal than a palace
a mountain more appeal than a throne
birdsong more beautiful than any choir to my ears
a sunset more beautiful than any gold
the stars more beautiful than any jewels

It makes me long for Eden, not heaven, and I never get better at that.

so I get depressed when I think of our end point being .. palaces, thrones, jewels, gold, obsequious praise and worship and grandiose displays, no night sky, no seas, no mountains just flat plains for grazing. Like the God who created Earth and Eden .. just decided He cares more about temples and thrones and palaces and Jewels than His initial very good creation. Imagine loving the God who created Earth and Eden, but He seems like He changed over time to being someone else who is harder to love and became someone you can't relate to anymore. Imagine everyone else also being unrelatable because they relate to all the palaces and gold and glory, and you just.. can't.

It feels isolating. I can be in the middle of a church, in the middle of a party, in the middle of a crowd.. and feel so totally alone and isolated. Like I don't even "get" my creator, because He wants things that I can't find desirable.

am I truly the only one who finds glory "meh"?

 

[trophy33]

God is not human and heaven is not comparable to our earthly experiences.

Bible describes both God and heaven in cultural anthropomorphic ways, frequently inspired by oriental royal courts.

I would not worry about it too much.

 

[trophy33]

Even the word "glory" as such has different connotations in different languages and cultures. For example in Greek, it meant to think positively about the person. In Slavic languages, "slava" is derived from "the one who is being talked about", similar to "fame". Etc.

Christianity is so broad and allows for so much flexibility that, you can find your own way in it, without any problems.

 

[Jamdoc]

God is not human and heaven is not comparable to our earthly experiences.

Bible describes both God and heaven in cultural anthropomorphic ways, frequently inspired by oriental royal courts.

I would not worry about it too much.

but God is human, He made us in His image and even lived life as one.

to be fair, I can relate to this:

Matthew 6

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

but what I can't relate to is.. Revelation's visions of heaven and all its' gold, jewels, crowns, etc.

 

[trophy33]

but God is human, He made us in His image and even lived life as one.

Well, not only logic and natural theology, but also Bible states that: "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind" (Nu 23:19)

to be fair, I can relate to this:
Matthew 6
but what I can't relate to is.. Revelation's visions of heaven and all its' gold, jewels, crowns, etc.

Both is just imagery, not literal. Spiritual realms are different from our experience. There are neither physical lilies, nor physical gold or crowns, there.

 

[Minister Monardo]

am I truly the only one who finds glory "meh"?

Perhaps it is because you still don't know your calling? The whole earth is filled with His Glory, so your nature loving ways is a contradiction. You cannot escape the glory of God in nature. The Greater Glory is to come, and when you see the Father and the Son descending in Glory, you will most likely not respond with 'meh'.
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.
2 Peter 1:17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Our glory is similar and hopefully will be well received. "Well done, my good and faithful servant".
My friend, nature is not the most excellent glory.
Instead of meh, we are instructed to wait patiently for what "God has prepared for those who love Him."

 

[Minister Monardo]

all the grandiose, all the jewels and gold,

Yes, I do agree with you here wholeheartedly. Streets of gold never impressed me. Perhaps it tests the hearts and motive of those who are supposed to be seeking Him?

 

[timothyu]

Jesus came and lived a life representing none of the glory man gives to Heaven. He said none of this world was representative of His Kingdom, in fact the opposite. Servitude is definitely not in the minds of the powerful here. I am reasonably sure that the first found on their way to the second death will be those who mercilessly sell our ways of life. As for the jewels and gold references in the Kingdom, consider that their value is being mocked, being no more useful than asphalt, more practical than profitable.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

God is not human

Jesus was born as a human, and is God.

 

[Jamdoc]

Well, not only logic and natural theology, but also Bible states that: "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind" (Nu 23:19)


Both is just imagery, not literal. Spiritual realms are different from our experience. There are neither physical lilies, nor physical gold or crowns, there.

but there is literal physical things on the new earth.
we don't exist forever as spirits.
it's a physical resurrection and a physically remade Earth.
But the emphasis is on the city, a gaudy gold and jewels city.

 

[Jamdoc]

Perhaps it is because you still don't know your calling? The whole earth is filled with His Glory, so your nature loving ways is a contradiction. You cannot escape the glory of God in nature. The Greater Glory is to come, and when you see the Father and the Son descending in Glory, you will most likely not respond with 'meh'.
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.
2 Peter 1:17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Our glory is similar and hopefully will be well received. "Well done, my good and faithful servant".
My friend, nature is not the most excellent glory.
Instead of meh, we are instructed to wait patiently for what "God has prepared for those who love Him."

If I had to say what pulls at me as a calling it is nature, animals in particular. I went into human medicine, it was a mistake, I think I was called to care for God's other creatures, not man. I've never been good with people, but... animals, I do well with, even non domesticated ones at times.

But it's too late now, being physically disabled. I failed that calling and lost it.

 

[All Becomes New]

Q: Is heaven supposed to be good?
A: Yes.

Therefore, don't worry about your expectations of what heaven will be like, since you probably have the wrong expectations. Would you rather go to hell?

 

[Lukaris]

I don’t know what heaven is supposed to actually be. The idea of salvation to everlasting life and no more fear of death is enough to be thankful for. I also pray that maybe there is more that can actually be done as a coworker ( among many) free of sin, directed by God for His creation.

 

[Jamdoc]

Q: Is heaven supposed to be good?
A: Yes.

Therefore, don't worry about your expectations of what heaven will be like, since you probably have the wrong expectations. Would you rather go to hell?

well scenes from Isaiah 6 and Revelation show all thrones temples gold jewels, etc.
and that's the best we got to work with.

and frankly, the "or go to hell" response is really tiresome.
Terrible comparison.

Compare to Eden, or compare to not even existing at all, because an eternity of existing with a creator you can't relate to? wouldn't be much better than hell. Just less physically painful, but no less emotionally painful. The Isolation would be nearly identical.

Try to imagine yourself being surrounded in a crowd, where everyone is happy, but you.
You might not be able to imagine "alone in a crowd" as a sensation. It likely makes no sense to you "how can you be alone when surrounded by joyful people?"
But it is a reality.

 

[All Becomes New]

well scenes from Isaiah 6 and Revelation show all thrones temples gold jewels, etc.
and that's the best we got to work with.

and frankly, the "or go to hell" response is really tiresome.
Terrible comparison.

Compare to Eden, or compare to not even existing at all, because an eternity of existing with a creator you can't relate to? wouldn't be much better than hell. Just less physically painful, but no less emotionally painful. The Isolation would be nearly identical.

Try to imagine yourself being surrounded in a crowd, where everyone is happy, but you.
You might not be able to imagine "alone in a crowd" as a sensation. It likely makes no sense to you "how can you be alone when surrounded by joyful people?"
But it is a reality.

the NHNE is an entirely new universe. It is not just a city. I recommend watching this video by Dr. Gavin Ortlund.

 

[trophy33]

but there is literal physical things on the new earth.
we don't exist forever as spirits.
it's a physical resurrection and a physically remade Earth.
But the emphasis is on the city, a gaudy gold and jewels city.

The book of Revelation is not literal. Neither is the city. The city is an image of the church.

If you base your issues on the literal reading of prophecies, then you can be quite sure you can let it be.

 

[All Becomes New]

The book of Revelation is not literal. Neither is the city. The city is an image of the church.

If you base your issues on the literal reading of prophecies, then you can be quite sure you can let it be.

Christ rose physically from the dead. As such, we will also physically rise from the dead. To deny this is to cease to be an orthodox Christian.

 

[trophy33]

Christ rose physically from the dead. As such, we will also physically rise from the dead. To deny this is to cease to be an orthodox Christian.

We will not physically rise from the dead:

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
1C 15:44

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1C 15:50

Was Paul not an orthodox Christian? Our new bodies are not physical.

 

[All Becomes New]

We will not physically rise from the dead:

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
1C 15:44

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1C 15:50

Was Paul not an orthodox Christian? Our new bodies are not physical.

You are wrong and have departed from orthodox Christianity.

Will the Resurrection of the Body Be a Physical Resurrection from the Dead?

Yes, our bodies will be raised not spiritually or ethereally but physically and materially. Our souls will be reunited with our transformed physical bodies, brought back to life from the dead. Scripture teaches this in many ways. First, simply to…

www.desiringgod.org

 

[trophy33]

You are wrong and have departed from orthodox Christianity.

Will the Resurrection of the Body Be a Physical Resurrection from the Dead?

Yes, our bodies will be raised not spiritually or ethereally but physically and materially. Our souls will be reunited with our transformed physical bodies, brought back to life from the dead. Scripture teaches this in many ways. First, simply to…

www.desiringgod.org

Really, a website against Paul's clear words? And you need to stop judging my Christianity.