Oliver Wendell Holmes is credited with originally saying, “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” Since then, it has been repeated thousands of times against some Christians or as a slander against all. To say about anyone that they are of no earthly good is both careless and cruel, and would be condemned if spoken against many other groups of people.

And yet, there may be some validity to this criticism if we so distort the vision of heaven that it becomes a silver lined, golden mansion inhabited celestial paradise. Jesus never promised mansions, let alone gold ones. In John 14, Jesus told His disciples that the Father has prepared a place in His house. The word for house may mean a waystation. As for gold, Revelation paints a symbolic picture of a fabulous city on earth, not celestial, private country estates.

Of course, the critique is directed toward those who think of nothing but heaven, without doing any good for others in their lifetimes. There may be some like that, but I don’t think I know a single such person. My experience suggests that those with a firm hope in God’s future, do more good here and now than most others. In fact, the good done here for others is rooted in such hope.

Not only is such criticism counter to my experience, it’s also runs counter to much of the New Testament. Last Sunday at our Littleton church was a demonstration of that. I taught a class that dealt with the beatitudes and woes in Luke 6. Poverty, hunger, weeping, hatred, and persecution may be some’s present experience, but they will be blessed. Live in that blessing now. You may now be rich, well-fed, laughing, and well liked now, but one day God may reverse all that. Live now in light of the future judgment God will bring. The sermon that day was from Hebrews. There we find that the faith-filled, and faithful, lived in light of the hope set before them. They did great good here, while waiting for that eternal city.

Let’s not accept the lie that looking forward to God’s future makes us less useful here. Rather, let’s bring that future to bear now, in order to be better servants of Jesus to bring His love to others. After all, doesn’t that seem to be the point of Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46?

Tim Kelley