Why does Matthew 22:30 cause me SO MUCH PAIN?

Aussie Pete · Jan 18, 2022

Jonathan Dahlin said:
I think that either everyone should be married or no one should be married. That's only fair. It's only fair that either every one be single or everyone be married. Otherwise it's unfair to perpetual singles.

Really? What about people who don't want to marry? There are plenty of them. And those who have trouble finding a spouse need to take a look at themselves and discover why. For some, there are valid reasons and there is nothing that they can do. Others maybe too self centred and immature to appeal to a member of the opposite sex.

If no one marries, you've just put an end to the human race. Unless you think it's OK to fill the world with illegitimate children.

Jamdoc · Jan 18, 2022

Aussie Pete said:
In Christ there is neither male nor female. There is no sex in heaven. There is no marriage. On earth for sure there are only two genders. Once this mortal puts on immortality, everything changes.

The modern "choose your own gender" business is an abomination, I agree. I wonder how those who worship science reconcile biological reality with individual fancy.

Again that's not what Paul was trying to say in Galatians.
Paul was not teaching an androgynous eternity.

Jesus resurrected identifiably as male. It was a physical resurrection. People read too much into the "spiritual" body and think it's not a physical body.
That's not what the bible teaches.
I quoted for you a passage showing Jesus as male after resurrecting, and also after He appeared to John in Revelation.

"Man" and "Woman" are perhaps the most core things that people identify themselves by. God created them male and female and He did not make a mistake in doing so.
What Paul was talking about was not that there aren't different ethnicities, or different genders.
Just that they all had the same value to God.
Otherwise without clarifying that male and female have the same value to God, a lot of Paul's other teachings regarding women would be extremely discouraging to female believers, who would just eternally be seen as second class citizens given that they're not authorized to teach in the church or lead. Similarly, if the Jews/Israel are clearly chosen above us and we're only "second class" citizens of heaven, that would be discouraging.
So Paul clears that up, that neither gender, nor ethnicity is valued more by God.

Jonathan Dahlin · Jan 24, 2022

Aussie Pete said:
In Christ there is neither male nor female. There is no sex in heaven. There is no marriage. On earth for sure there are only two genders. Once this mortal puts on immortality, everything changes.

The modern "choose your own gender" business is an abomination, I agree. I wonder how those who worship science reconcile biological reality with individual fancy.

Wasn't Jesus still male in his resurrection? What about Elijah and Moses? When people recognized them, they didn't mistake them for a neuter.
Jesus was mistaken by Mary Magdalene for a gardener, a predominantly male occupation at that time.

Aussie Pete · Jan 25, 2022

Jonathan Dahlin said:
Wasn't Jesus still male in his resurrection? What about Elijah and Moses? When people recognized them, they didn't mistake them for a neuter.
Jesus was mistaken by Mary Magdalene for a gardener, a predominantly male occupation at that time.

God is He, the Holy Spirit is He, Jesus is He. The Church is she. So all Christians are female? The Bride of Christ? We will be in the realm of the Spirit, in a new heavens and new earth. Gender will no longer have any meaning.

Jonathan Dahlin · Jan 25, 2022

Aussie Pete said:
God is He, the Holy Spirit is He, Jesus is He. The Church is she. So all Christians are female? The Bride of Christ? We will be in the realm of the Spirit, in a new heavens and new earth. Gender will no longer have any meaning.

Yes, I forgot to mention the Bible doesn't say anything about females retaining their gender. It only mentions men like Jesus, Elijah, and Moses retaining their gender. I thought of that before I saw your reply.

Jonathan Dahlin · Jan 25, 2022

Jamdoc said:
No, because they are qualitatively different.
You're doing a quantitative comparison again.
any time something is qualitatively different you shouldn't make a quantitative comparison.

Sex vs. heaven is not like transistors vs. vacuum tubes, is it? Or relays and switches?

Jamdoc · Jan 25, 2022

Jonathan Dahlin said:
Sex vs. heaven is not like transistors vs. vacuum tubes, is it? Or relays and switches?

No it's more like apples vs oranges.
qualitatively different.
One's an intimate physical relationship between a male and a female

the other's a non physical relationship between a male and another male.

Aussie Pete · Jan 25, 2022

Jonathan Dahlin said:
Yes, I forgot to mention the Bible doesn't say anything about females retaining their gender. It only mentions men like Jesus, Elijah, and Moses retaining their gender. I thought of that before I saw your reply.

It helps to remember that Eve was "in" Adam so to speak. Gender is of the natural, not the spiritual realm.

Jamdoc · Jan 26, 2022

Aussie Pete said:
God is He, the Holy Spirit is He, Jesus is He. The Church is she. So all Christians are female? The Bride of Christ? We will be in the realm of the Spirit, in a new heavens and new earth. Gender will no longer have any meaning.

Jonathan Dahlin said:
Yes, I forgot to mention the Bible doesn't say anything about females retaining their gender. It only mentions men like Jesus, Elijah, and Moses retaining their gender. I thought of that before I saw your reply.

Aussie Pete said:
It helps to remember that Eve was "in" Adam so to speak. Gender is of the natural, not the spiritual realm.

okay so this chain of thoughts is a perfect example of why I hate when people have doctrines based on single verses out of context.
In this case Galatians 3:28 and the concept of a "spiritual body" in 1 Corinthians 15
People take these few verses to make the doctrine that eternity is a non physical, non corporeal place where everyone's an androgynous eunuch.

Maybe it's because Man can't describe heaven or the new earth adequately, because every time he tries, he creates a nightmare fuel dystopian hellhole instead of a restoration of all things.. but it seems to be the case.

#1. Resurrection is physical, as Jesus was raised physically, so will we be. The "spiritual" nature of the body means that the body is immortal, and also not at war with the spirit like our current bodies are.

#2. God created us body first, and he created us male and female. God does not make mistakes, and that is one of the things I find so offensive about our understanding of this verse is that it leads to thoughts like women losing one of the most defining aspects about who they are as people, it leads to a place where God creating woman was a mistake that needs to be corrected in the next age.
and Also.. what the bible has promised is a restoration of all things. Marriage being an exception that really stands out. Our understanding of this verse and its parallels makes it seem like God has repented of making marriage, making women, and has changed his plan. I don't like when the one universal constant apparently changes their mind.
I mean this was a thing created before the fall, it was not a mistake
yet somehow it's being treated as one
intimate relationships between male and male have always been treated as an abomination
yet apparently the meaningful, intimate, relationships are all male male in eternity?
Men who were "wounded in the stones" were forbidden from joining the congregation in Israel, yet in eternity we're ALL Eunuchs?

It doesn't add up.
It's all contradictory.

Aussie Pete · Jan 26, 2022

Jamdoc said:
okay so this chain of thoughts is a perfect example of why I hate when people have doctrines based on single verses out of context.
In this case Galatians 3:28 and the concept of a "spiritual body" in 1 Corinthians 15
People take these few verses to make the doctrine that eternity is a non physical, non corporeal place where everyone's an androgynous eunuch.

Maybe it's because Man can't describe heaven or the new earth adequately, because every time he tries, he creates a nightmare fuel dystopian hellhole instead of a restoration of all things.. but it seems to be the case.

#1. Resurrection is physical, as Jesus was raised physically, so will we be. The "spiritual" nature of the body means that the body is immortal, and also not at war with the spirit like our current bodies are.

#2. God created us body first, and he created us male and female. God does not make mistakes, and that is one of the things I find so offensive about our understanding of this verse is that it leads to thoughts like women losing one of the most defining aspects about who they are as people, it leads to a place where God creating woman was a mistake that needs to be corrected in the next age.
and Also.. what the bible has promised is a restoration of all things. Marriage being an exception that really stands out. Our understanding of this verse and its parallels makes it seem like God has repented of making marriage, making women, and has changed his plan. I don't like when the one universal constant apparently changes their mind.
I mean this was a thing created before the fall, it was not a mistake
yet somehow it's being treated as one
intimate relationships between male and male have always been treated as an abomination
yet apparently the meaningful, intimate, relationships are all male male in eternity?
Men who were "wounded in the stones" were forbidden from joining the congregation in Israel, yet in eternity we're ALL Eunuchs?

It doesn't add up.
It's all contradictory.

Jesus has a material body but not physical. How else could he walk through walls and locked doors? Eternal relationships are represented by marriage. The one became two, not by creation but by God taking part of Adam and forming Eve. Eve represents the church. The Church is only that which comes out of Christ. He is the Last Adam and the Church is His bride. The principle is "first the natural, then the spiritual". (1 Corinthians 15:46 paraphrase).

Those who are born again have their home in heaven. In order to be born again, we first have to be born physically. This is what baffled Nicodemus. There will be no marriage in heaven in the sense that we know it. Otherwise the marriage supper of the Lamb is the greatest ever act of polygamy, frowned on in the NT.

"Eunuch" makes no sense in the heavenly realm. There is no marriage. God's command was for man to be fruitful and multiply. That's the only aspect of God's will that man has done. There is no such command for mankind in heaven.

I don't know what else God will do in the next realm. Is He happy with the number of angels and such? Is there another planet with beings that need to be saved? Only God knows. I'm not given to speculation. And I'll find out soon enough.

Jamdoc · Jan 26, 2022

Aussie Pete said:
Jesus has a material body but not physical. How else could he walk through walls and locked doors? Eternal relationships are represented by marriage. The one became two, not by creation but by God taking part of Adam and forming Eve. Eve represents the church. The Church is only that which comes out of Christ. He is the Last Adam and the Church is His bride. The principle is "first the natural, then the spiritual". (1 Corinthians 15:46 paraphrase).

Those who are born again have their home in heaven. In order to be born again, we first have to be born physically. This is what baffled Nicodemus. There will be no marriage in heaven in the sense that we know it. Otherwise the marriage supper of the Lamb is the greatest ever act of polygamy, frowned on in the NT.

"Eunuch" makes no sense in the heavenly realm. There is no marriage. God's command was for man to be fruitful and multiply. That's the only aspect of God's will that man has done. There is no such command for mankind in heaven.

I don't know what else God will do in the next realm. Is He happy with the number of angels and such? Is there another planet with beings that need to be saved? Only God knows. I'm not given to speculation. And I'll find out soon enough.

Woman was not created just to be a breeding factory. God didn't need angels to marry to make hundreds of millions of them.
Woman was primarily created to be a complementary companion to Man. That is she is different from man, but in a way that they complement each other.

That's one of the other things I hate about this doctrine.. it devalues women and marriage to only having value in breeding.

3 Resurrections · Jan 26, 2022

Jonathan Dahlin said:
Yes, I forgot to mention the Bible doesn't say anything about females retaining their gender.

Yes, it does. The seamstress Dorcas (aka Tabitha) was resurrected and still retained her female gender when Peter presented her alive. So did Jairus's daughter. And these resurrected females were given their glorified resurrected bodies at that time. They never died again, since mankind is appointed to die only ONCE, according to Hebrew 9:27.

And the context of Luke 20:27-36 says nothing at all about the woman married to the seven brothers losing her gender as a "child of the resurrection". Jesus never said anything at all about the woman having to discard her female gender in the resurrection. That point of the discussion with the Sadducees would have been the time to mention such a thing, if God intended the female of the race to discard their gender in the afterlife (which He doesn't intend).

Jamdoc · Jan 27, 2022

3 Resurrections said:
Yes, it does. The seamstress Dorcas (aka Tabitha) was resurrected and still retained her female gender when Peter presented her alive. So did Jairus's daughter. And these resurrected females were given their glorified resurrected bodies at that time. They never died again, since mankind is appointed to die only ONCE, according to Hebrew 9:27.

And the context of Luke 20:27-36 says nothing at all about the woman married to the seven brothers losing her gender as a "child of the resurrection". Jesus never said anything at all about the woman having to discard her female gender in the resurrection. That point of the discussion with the Sadducees would have been the time to mention such a thing, if God intended the female of the race to discard their gender in the afterlife (which He doesn't intend).

I dunno if I'd dogmatically say that those people resurrected by Jesus and the apostles became immortal, though I am open to the possibility because of Hebrews 9:27 and them just being raptured.
But yes, those who were resurrected were resurrected in bodies of flesh and still maintained their sexual identity.

I find the "genderless" eternity idea to be.. well
abominable.
because it's inconsistent with God's law.
if it was abominable for a man to voluntarily become a eunuch such that he couldn't even join the congregation, or even just wearing clothes pertaining to a woman.. would God really change his mind on that?
Similarly the individually married to Jesus ("gay 4 Jesus" theology I call it) idea.. God has called it abomination for man to have that relationship to another man... sin is always sin.
and really I don't know if you're a woman, but wouldn't you find it ... offensive to lose such a fundamental part of the identity that God gave you?

3 Resurrections · Jan 28, 2022

Jamdoc said:
I dunno if I'd dogmatically say that those people resurrected by Jesus and the apostles became immortal, though I am open to the possibility because of Hebrews 9:27 and them just being raptured.
But yes, those who were resurrected were resurrected in bodies of flesh and still maintained their sexual identity.

I appreciate that you can express an open mind about this, because I do believe that scripture teaches that once resurrected, always resurrected. Just as once a child of God, always a child of God. These are concepts reflective of each other. This would mean that anyone in the scriptures who was ever bodily resurrected (and given their glorified immortal form) never married, since there is no marriage and giving in marriage in the eternal state. But this was the origin of the pain you spoke of in your original post.

Just remember that there is something that is worse than never having a marital relationship in this life, and that is to be alone within a marriage, with the absence of communication or fellowship on any level. This creates more anguish than not being married, because it is polar opposite to what God designed marriage to be. Similar to seating someone down to a gourmet dinner with a muzzle on. Just like your own situation, those experiencing this lack of fellowship in a marriage also have to struggle with surrendering, and trust that the God who loves them will in time work all things out for their good.

Sometimes I think God waits until we can put our longings in the proper rank of priorities before He will grant a fulfillment for those longings. Even a good thing can easily become an idol.

Jamdoc said:
Similarly the individually married to Jesus ("gay 4 Jesus" theology I call it) idea.. God has called it abomination for man to have that relationship to another man... sin is always sin.
and really I don't know if you're a woman, but wouldn't you find it ... offensive to lose such a fundamental part of the identity that God gave you?

On my part, I struggle with the whole "marriage supper of the Lamb" idea. After some 16 years in a cult-like church long ago which reduced the whole idea of Christian marriage to a property owner with chattel, the symbolism of a "marriage supper of the Lamb" unfortunately became somewhat tainted by association.

But in the final resurrection, I believe the whole man / woman gender wars will be finally and forever done away with. Not that this is accomplished by getting rid of those genders. Men and women were originally designed to mutually have dominion over this planet, as Genesis 1:28 tells us. One day that will be realized once again.

VictoryForever · Feb 6, 2022

Jamdoc. I can honestly say that I feel similar to how you feel. I have been lonely for all my life. I am not crippled but I have other problems. I am terribly sorry for your situation. To be in so much pain, I wish I could tell you anything to help you feel better but I don't know what to say.

I want to share my situation here because I am getting desperate. I hope that someone can give me hope. Maybe someone can help me.

Many years ago my life was getting really bad but then Christ spoke to me and I became a Christian.

My life was improving and for several years I had the hope that I would either be with someone in a special relationship either here on earth or in the next life. But reality has caught up with me, I have realized that I am probably never going to get married due to my situation. But hope remained that in the afterlife I may find love.
I then found that verse.. In the book of matthew..

All of my hope faded. All of my life I wished to have a wife and a family, or to at least have a wife, a lifelong companion and someone who is special to me and with whom I am special to. I do not care about wealth or power. I do not care about lavish food or fame or monuments, I do not care about walking on golden streets. Most of the promises of Heaven really don't interest me much. I only ever wanted love and affection and to love and show affection to that special someone. Knowing that this will never be possible..
It made me suicidal, I even prayed to God that he would destroy me in the lake of fire instead of suffering me to live in pain and loneliness for the rest of eternity. Though I am saved, if I am to live for eternity with this pain, then the pain that I have felt my whole life will be multiplied by infinity. A punishment worse than hell itself.

I would rather die and be destroyed than to live alone for that long. My pain doesn't end, I wake up everyday wondering if I have enough strength or willpower to go on for just another hour, just another day. Just to suffer. Every night I go to sleep I feel nothing but despair. My emotional and spiritual pain.. I feel it physically, it feels like someone has wrapped thorns and cold steel wire around my heart and my tears just run down my cheeks. There is no comfort, no solace, no one that can tell me that it's going to be alright. How could it be alright? The bible is clear, people who suffer loneliness will suffer it for eternity. No marriage in paradise.. Doesn't sound like paradise to me.

And no, Jesus cannot substitute for a woman. He is male, I do not desire a romantic relationship with Jesus. He is like a father to me, a brother, a friend. But he can never be my wife, how could he ever fulfill that desire?

So I am left starving, no hope, no dreams, no future. I have nothing except for salvation but that salvation seems to only transition my temporal pain into an infinite pain. I cannot stop believing in God because I have seen his miracles, I cannot deny his existence. I cannot forget my faith. Even if I spoke rejection of God with my mouth I could not actually mean it. I simply cannot deny God.

I don't have family, I don't have any real friends, I don't have a wife. For my whole life I never had anyone close to me except for Jesus. If I am to spend eternity alone then I would rather forget that I am human, forget that other human beings exist. That I may be led to believe onto a lie that I am the only one of my kind. Perhaps this would alleviate the pain and bring me some comfort. It's either total and utter oblivion or suicide into the lake of fire. That's my alternatives. I have no hope. I don't know what to do anymore. I tried to kill myself yesterday but I was to afraid to go through with it, I sat on the edge of a window on a tall building, kept telling myself, just jump and then all the pain will be gone. A lifetime of pain will end. But I just couldn't do it.

One day I suspect that my pain will eclipse my fear and I will finally end my life. No more pain, no more suffering. I created this account just to share this. I have lost all ambition to do anything in life. If I meet someone and get married, my heart will be broken again because God will separate me from her on the resurrection, no point in getting married if it doesn't last. Why continue working? Why eat, why drink, why even do anything, there is no point anymore.

Please give me hope.

3 Resurrections · Feb 6, 2022

VictoryForever said:
Please give me hope.

God tells us that He "satisfies the longing soul" (Psalms 107:9). Those longings are satisfied in the time that God decrees, (which is not necessarily at the time which we would prefer). He tells us that He "puts our tears in His bottle", and they are in His book (Psalms 56:8). None of those tears are disregarded.

God also tells us that He "sets the solitary in families" (Psalms 68:6). I believe He was speaking of both earthly families and the heavenly family relationship. In any case, you ARE part of a family - the family of God which is only typified for now by the flawed family relationships that exist on earth.

As you have freely mentioned above, Jesus calls Himself your brother, and He is not ashamed to do so (Hebrews 2:11). Which makes you my brother also. We together are part of "the whole family in heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15), named after Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Quite literally, we believers are all blood relations in Christ.

I was speaking with my daughter the other day when she showed me on her cell phone some pictures of two pastors that she used to have in her social media group who had committed suicide recently. Even leaders of the flock of God are not immune to despair which can overwhelm the soul to that degree of hopelessness. But that final decision they made effects everyone who was even remotely connected with knowing those pastors. One had even written a book about his earlier suicide attempts. I can only imagine the pain which those he left behind are now experiencing.

While we draw breath on this earth, God has designed a peculiar purpose for each to perform. Whatever that may be, our surrender to that purpose is what grants us some peace in this life. We each have a gift of some kind. I can tell you this: both you and Jamdoc appear to have a natural ability to express your own emotions and experiences in writing. Do you know what a treasure that is? It is the power to connect with other people on the level of the soul, which helps to reduce the loneliness which all feel to one degree or another.

Jamdoc · Feb 6, 2022

Except I don't feel like it's a gift I feel like I bare my soul to everyone because I don't have just 1 person to try and bare it to, and just.. feel no connection to anyone. Not within the church, not within the world. I just feel like I don't belong anywhere.

I actually seek actual solitude sometimes because feeling "alone in a crowd" is just that much more depressing. Just this constant feel of being on the outside looking in.
The feel of "you're not part of this group, nor are you part of this group" okay so what am I part of?
Yeah you'll say the part of the church but I just.. don't really feel accepted there either.
You go to church, and ... sit by yourself and maybe people will come shake your hand and introduce themselves.. but.. no real time interacting.

Everyone's with their families.

You know in school when the teacher would have everyone partner up but there's an odd number in the class and 1 student (and yes that usually was me) was left hanging without a partner so the teacher would say "we'll be partners then" That's what it feels like but in this case Jesus is taking the role of teacher. It's at best patronizing.

3 Resurrections · Feb 6, 2022

Jamdoc, I know all about being the class reject during all my high school years. And that while being in Christian schools as well. I couldn't name one that was a friend during that time. Part social awkwardness, part family drama, differences in doctrinal beliefs, other problems, etc.. The other students would deliberately sit far away from me in class if they could. Very painful to remember, even today.

But you underestimate the benefit it gives to others to be able to read when someone like yourself openly shares their sense of isolation. You may never know in this life how that can encourage someone else to lift their head up, simply by realizing that they aren't alone in that position by themselves.

I can tell you what worked to connect me with several others in my neighborhood, and that was to do the daily dog walk. This provided the social catalyst, at least for my awkward self, in becoming more acquainted with people as they went about their daily routines. It began with casual friendliness over pets, and gradually expanded from there. Two of these I have met in my neighborhood walks have become my absolute closest friends over the past years. There aren't many subjects of deep concern that we have not shared between us, even more so than my spouse, who now considers me a heretic for leaving the church (where we have been members for many years) over differences in doctrines (again!).

I hope you really don't consider Jesus to be some sort of pitiful "consolation prize" until you can do better. He is much, much more than that. If I seek Him and His fellowship first before anything, the joy this creates can overflow and spill over onto others around me. And there is nothing as appealing to other believers as to be near a joy-filled child of God. It is magnetic, and can become contagious.

Jamdoc · Feb 6, 2022

3 Resurrections said:
Jamdoc, I know all about being the class reject during all my high school years. And that while being in Christian schools as well. I couldn't name one that was a friend during that time. Part social awkwardness, part family drama, differences in doctrinal beliefs, other problems, etc.. The other students would deliberately sit far away from me in class if they could. Very painful to remember, even today.

But you underestimate the benefit it gives to others to be able to read when someone like yourself openly shares their sense of isolation. You may never know in this life how that can encourage someone else to lift their head up, simply by realizing that they aren't alone in that position by themselves.

I can tell you what worked to connect me with several others in my neighborhood, and that was to do the daily dog walk. This provided the social catalyst, at least for my awkward self, in becoming more acquainted with people as they went about their daily routines. It began with casual friendliness over pets, and gradually expanded from there. Two of these I have met in my neighborhood walks have become my absolute closest friends over the past years. There aren't many subjects of deep concern that we have not shared between us, even more so than my spouse, who now considers me a heretic for leaving the church (where we have been members for many years) over differences in doctrines (again!).

I hope you really don't consider Jesus to be some sort of pitiful "consolation prize" until you can do better. He is much, much more than that. If I seek Him and His fellowship first before anything, the joy this creates can overflow and spill over onto others around me. And there is nothing as appealing to other believers as to be near a joy-filled child of God. It is magnetic, and can become contagious.

It's more along the lines that my creator loves me out of obligation for having created me, like a parent is obligated to love their child. They didn't choose to. It's not exactly because God chose to create me and God chose again to save me.
and I don't understand why because it seems like there is nothing worth loving in me and no reason for a broken man like me to even exist. My pain (physical and emotional and spiritual) doesn't draw people to Christ, quite the opposite.
again, not exact, but a teacher has obligation to make sure even the most totally outcast student in their class isn't totally alone in a group exercise that he or she starts for the class.
So I only feel any love at all out of obligation.
In this illustration also, the teacher has chosen to pair up students, but chosen for me to be the odd one out.

and for what it's worth again I look back at Genesis 2. Adam had God, but God declared that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone.
God could have declared that Adam wasn't alone because God was with him.
God could have spawned millions of male humans without any female humans ever existing.
But God chose to create woman to be a companion to Adam, and created monogamous marriage as the way He saw right.

Then in a single verse (well with parallel verses) takes that way forever, and leaves us to speculate over "gender non binary" eternities and whether male believers are "gay for Jesus" or if it's just a corporate thing and everyone's a eunuch.

3 Resurrections · Feb 6, 2022

Jamdoc said:
It's not exactly because God chose to create me and God chose again to save me.
and I don't understand why because it seems like there is nothing worth loving in me and no reason for a broken man like me to even exist. My pain (physical and emotional and spiritual) doesn't draw people to Christ, quite the opposite.

This sounds oh-so-close to what I remember from Joni Eareckson Tada's book "Joni". Her struggles with finding meaning and value for her life as a paralyzed Christian were extremely moving to read. She was quite honest in describing her despair as a young adult concerning her disabilities, and her frustration / anger that God was not answering her fervent prayers to be healed. Yet God has used this woman's frailty in many remarkable ways to accomplish a world of good. His strength shines through her bodily weakness in a most awe-inspiring demonstration of how God can use even calamity to bring glory to His name. And God brought a faithful husband into her life that she had thought she would never get to experience. It was almost as if God waited until she completely released in surrender this matter into His hands when He then chose to bless her with a life partner.

As for eternity, I am not even slightly worried that any of us will be bored or lonely living forever and serving God in our male or female glorified bodies. And if there is no marriage nor giving in marriage in the eternal state, will God also remove the natural human desire originally designed for physical union between man and woman as well? And if He does, will we feel cheated? Will we feel cheated if children are not being born anymore in eternity when childbirth was called God's "reward" while in this life?

We are told that God is capable of doing things "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). That is a LOT of superlatives promised in that one verse. There is no way that our experiences in the afterlife will be even slightly disappointing. Any pleasure that we can think of experiencing in this life, God will always be able to exceed that expectation by an infinite margin.

Why does Matthew 22:30 cause me SO MUCH PAIN?

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