La pastora y activista Asun Quintana y el pastor José Seisdedos han sido reconocidos con el Premio Nuevo Amanecer 2026, un galardón que distingue trayectorias de fidelidad, servicio y compromiso dentro del ámbito evangélico en España.
Impulsados por la ONG Estrella de la Esperanza (que dirige Marcos Sancio, presentador del acto) estos premios nacieron con el propósito de honrar vidas entregadas al servicio del Evangelio a lo largo del tiempo, reconociendo no solo logros puntuales, sino una trayectoria sostenida con impacto espiritual, social y humano.
En esta edición, el jurado ha querido destacar dos trayectorias profundamente significativas y complementarias. Por un lado, la de Asun Quintana, pastora, fundadora y presidenta de la Plataforma Séneca Falls, cuya labor se ha centrado en la defensa de un feminismo genuinamente bíblico y cristiano, la dignidad de las mujeres, la reflexión crítica dentro de la Iglesia y el acompañamiento a víctimas de abuso en contextos religiosos. Es también Coordinadora del Grupo de Trabajo de Mujer y Sociedad de la Alianza Evangélica Española, y miembro de la Mesa Salmo 15 (para la lucha contra el abuso sexual en el enteorno religioso).
Por otro, la de José Seisdedos, pastor y fundador junto con su esposa Esperanza del ministerio Testimonio Cristiano a Cada Hogar, cuya vida ha estado marcada por una incansable labor evangelizadora, especialmente en ámbitos rurales y a través de una obra constante de alcance nacional, que ha llegado a convertirse en un ministerio mundial, incluyendo países donde se sufre persecución manifiesta contra los cristianos.
Ambos representan formas distintas pero integradas como parte del compromiso cristiano, con un impacto profundo y duradero.
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Con la conducción del acto a cargo de Fran Quesada y Esperanza Guindel, la presentación de los galardonados estuvo a cargo de la reconocida figura de Juan Antonio Monroy, referente indispensable en la historia evangélica contemporánea, quien puso en valor la coherencia, la fidelidad y el impacto de ambos premiados a lo largo de los años.Como expuso, aunque con enfoques distintos, tanto Asun Quintana como José Seisdedos comparten un denominador común: una vida vivida desde la entrega y el servicio incansable y constante.
En el cierre del acto Luis Fajardo (secretario general de Sociedad Bíblica y miembro del jurado del premio) entregó a los premiados una Biblia Reina Valera 2020. Cerró el evento con una oración Raúl Martín (nuevo secretario general de Líderes Empresariales Cristianos). Estuvo presente también Enrique Montenegro, presidente de COMIMA, miembro del Jurado y reconocido misionero en España por muchísimos años.
El Premio Nuevo Amanecer continúa así un año más su propósito de visibilizar y agradecer vidas que han sido sembradas con fidelidad, muchas veces lejos del foco, pero con una influencia real en la Iglesia y la sociedad.
En el caso de José Seisdedos, intervinieron el actual director de Testimonio Cristiano a Cada Hogar (TCCH) y su amigo Luciano Arévalo, quienes destacaron su carácter cercano, su perseverancia y su entrega silenciosa y sacrificada durante décadas de ministerio. Además de la labor evangelizadora han fundado congregaciones en Madrid y Alcalá de Henares, dejando en ellas una huella que continúa creciendo a través de otros líderes comprometidos.
Este reconocimiento tuvo además un carácter especialmente simbólico, ya que coincide un doble aniversario: los 50 años del ministerio TCCH y los 50 años de matrimonio de José Seisdedos, una vida compartida también en la misión.
El propio Seisdedos quiso compartir el premio con su esposa, reconociendo públicamente su papel como pilar fundamental y colaboradora activa esencial, destacando su apoyo constante, su implicación y su vocación de servicio a lo largo de todos estos años.
Uno de los momentos más emotivos de la velada fue la intervención de Ana Giménez, presidenta de Aglow y compañera de Asun Quintana en la iniciativa Mesa Salmo 15.
En una dedicatoria profundamente cercana, destacó no solo su liderazgo, sino su calidad humana: su empatía, su capacidad de escucha y su compromiso con las personas más vulnerables. “El reconocimiento a Asun Quintana pone en valor una trayectoria marcada por la valentía y la conciencia crítica dentro de la Iglesia” dijo en su discurso.
Su trabajo, continuó, ha sido especialmente relevante en la denuncia del abuso de poder y del abuso sexual en contextos religiosos, abordando una realidad compleja y muchas veces silenciada. Desde su experiencia pastoral y su implicación social, ha contribuido a visibilizar dinámicas de manipulación espiritual y a cuestionar estructuras que favorecen el encubrimiento.
Quintana ha impulsado una reflexión profunda en torno a la necesidad de pasar de una cultura del silencio a una cultura de la transparencia, promoviendo espacios seguros donde las víctimas puedan ser escuchadas, acompañadas y dignificadas. Su enfoque se enmarca en lo que ella misma ha definido como un feminismo bíblico, que busca reconciliar fe, misericordia y justicia, defendiendo el valor, la voz y el papel de las mujeres dentro de la Iglesia.
A lo largo de los años, ha acompañado a numerosas víctimas, ofreciendo apoyo emocional, orientación y visibilidad, convirtiéndose en una referencia en este ámbito.
Su labor también ha estado marcada por una llamada a la autocrítica eclesial, insistiendo en que la credibilidad de la Iglesia pasa por su capacidad de reconocer errores, asumir responsabilidades y generar cambios reales.
Publicado en: PROTESTANTE DIGITAL – ESPAÑA
– Asun Quintana y José Seisdedos, galardonados con el Premio Nuevo Amanecer 2026
In 1969, Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff recorded a song titled, ‘Many Rivers to Cross’. Jimmy Cliff mentioned that the song was birthed out of the frustration and helplessness he felt after moving from Jamaica to the UK. The feelings came about because unlike what he had expected, nothing significant seemed to be happening in his career at that time.
The lyrics go like this:
Many rivers to cross
But I can’t seem to find my way over
Wandering I am lost
As I travel along the white cliffs of Dover
Are you feeling like that today? Surrounded by turbulent waters that you can’t seem to cross? It is a fact that many people are facing turbulent waters today, especially with the ripple effects of COVID-19. In the midst of such challenges, the Word of God gives us great hope and assurance.
Here is a thought from the Bible that encourage us to have hope when surrounded by turbulent waters.
Turbulent waters cannot drown us
In Isaiah 43:2, the Lord gives great assurance about His protection on His children as they face deep, turbulent waters. He says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2). What a great encouragement it is to know that He will not let us drown or be swept away when confronted by what the scripture calls ‘rivers of difficulty’ (Refer Isaiah 43:2 NLT).
Closing:
So friend if you are facing turbulent waters right now hold on to the promises of God and stand firm in your faith. As you do so, Jesus will speak to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Mark 4:39.
By Palitha Jayasooriya
Used by Permission
Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/
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“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” ~Soren Kierkegaard
Let’s be clear:
This isn’t an article about positive thinking.
This isn’t an article about how silver linings make everything okay.
This isn’t an article about how your perspective on anxiety is all wrong.
The kids call those things “toxic positivity.”
No toxic positivity here.
This is an article about my lifelong relationship with anxiety and what I’ve learned from something that won’t go away. At times the anxiety spikes and feels almost crippling. I have a hard time appreciating the learning at those times, but it’s still there.
That is what this article is all about.
Please do not confuse me learning things from something that won’t go away with me endorsing that thing or saying it’s a good thing. I would trade everything I’ve learned from anxiety for less anxiety. I don’t even like writing about it because focusing on it this much gives me anxiety. But I want to write things that help people.
Stranger Things has shown how cool the eighties were. For the most part, this is true. I miss arcades and the music. I miss the freedom I had as a kid that I don’t see kids having these days. I miss some of the fashion. I don’t miss people not knowing anything about mental health.
We used to play football every day after school at a baseball field/park in our little town. This was unsupervised tackle football with kids a lot older than me.
I remember one time a guy broke his finger. It was pointing back at him at a ninety-degree angle. He took off sprinting toward his house. One of the older kids said, “He’s running home to Mommy!” and we all went back to playing.
Oddly enough, possibly breaking my finger didn’t worry me. What did worry me was one day when a kid was running for a touchdown, and another kid dove to stop him. He only caught the top of his pants, pulling them down and exposing his bare butt. He made the touchdown anyway, but while everyone else thought it was hilarious, it scared me to death.
What if that happens to me?
I started tying my pants up with a string every day, pulling it tight enough to make my stomach hurt (remember, this was the eighties—I was wearing those neon-colored pajama-pant-looking things). I started to feel sick before we played football, before school, and before everything.
You would think it was obvious that I was dealing with anxiety, but you have to remember that in the eighties and nineties, we did not talk about mental health like we do now. We didn’t throw around terms like anxiety and depression. I was just the weird kid that threw up before he went to school.
The anxiety has gotten a little more noticeable over the past few years. It seems to have gotten worse since having COVID in 2020 and 2021. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but it feels like it is. It has forced me to deal with it mindfully and with more intention. It’s never pleasant, but I’ve learned a few things.
The crushing presence of high anxiety forces me to be exactly where I am at that moment. I’m not able to read or write. I cannot play a video game or watch a movie with any kind of enjoyment. There’s nothing I can do.
This roots me in the moment in a very intense, authentic way. That might seem bad since I’m anxious, but there’s another layer to it. When I can be completely present with the physiological sensations of anxiety, I recognize that they are energy in the body. When I’m super present, I can see how my mind is turning those sensations into the emotion we call anxiety, and that’s where my suffering comes from.
I’ve been told that my hyper-independence and need to be prepared for anything is a trauma response. I was a therapist for ten years, and I still don’t know what to do with this information. I do know that anxiety gives me a crash course in what I can control and what I cannot control.
The bad news is that I can’t control any of the things that I think are creating anxiety. The good news is that I can control my response to all those things. Anxiety forces me to do this in a very intentional way.
Anxiety also puts my mind firmly on something bigger than myself. Maybe it’s that higher power we hear about in AA meetings and on award shows. It’s good for me to get outside my head and remember that I’m not in charge of anything. It’s helpful to only box within my weight class.
I’m bad about allowing my habits and boundaries to slip when times are good. I start eating poorly, I stop exercising, I stay up too late, and I watch a bunch of shows and movies that beam darkness and distraction directly into my head.
I also start to allow unhealthy and even toxic people to have a more prominent role in my life. This is all under the guise of helping them because people reach out to me a lot. Over the years, I’ve learned I have to limit how close I let the most toxic people get to me, no matter how much help they need.
When I’m feeling good, I start thinking I can handle anything, and my boundaries slip. Anxiety is always a reminder that the unhealthiness in my life has consequences, and I clean house when it spikes.
Once I clean house, I start looking at new projects and things I can do to feel better. I start taking the next step in who I want to be. This has been difficult over the past three years because the waves of anxiety have been so intense, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel as the good habits I put in place and the new projects and things I started are beginning to come to fruition.
I chose to let my counseling license go inactive and focus on life coaching because it’s less stressful, and I’m better at it. This would not have happened without anxiety. I have changed my diet and exercise in response to blood pressure and anxiety, and these are good habits to have whether I am anxious or not.
I’ve written and spoken a lot about my desire to be gentler with people. I’m not unkind, and I have a lot of compassion for people, but this is often expressed gruffly or too directly. It’s how I was raised, and I often feel like I am patronizing people if I walk in verbal circles when I’m trying to help them with something.
When I’m experiencing high anxiety I feel fragile, which helps me understand how other people might feel in the face of my bluntness. I started working on being gentler around 2018, and I was disappointed in my progress.
It was also around that year that anxiety began to become a fixture in my life again. As I look back now, I can recognize that I am a lot gentler with everyone around me when I’m anxious. Being a little fragile helps me treat everybody else with a little more care.
When I started experiencing increased anxiety, it led me to make quick decisions and change things to try to deal with it. This makes sense. Evolutionarily, anxiety is meant to prompt us to action.
The problem was that these decisions rarely turned out to be my best ones and often led to other consequences I had to deal with down the line. Because of this, I’ve learned that an anxiety spike is not the time to make big decisions.
If I have to make a decision about something, I slow down and try to be very intentional about it. I’ve also learned I need to talk it out with somebody else, something I’ve never been inclined to do. Asking for help is a good thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is the opposite of what I just said.
Let me clarify.
One of the most important quotes I’ve ever read came from the folk singer Joan Baez: “Action is the antidote to anxiety.” (Years later, I learned she might have said despair instead of anxiety, but I heard it the first way).
Some tasks bring anxiety that I do not want to deal with. These usually involve phone calls or emails to bureaucratic organizations or errands that I find unpleasant and anxiety-inducing (avoiding these also makes sense—our evolutionary legacy cannot understand why we would do something that may feel dangerous).
Over the years, I’ve learned that anxiety diminishes if I take the steps I need to take to address these tasks. The cool thing is that this has translated over to many of my day-to-day tasks.
By acting in the face of anxiety, I’ve gotten pretty good about doing things when they need to be done. I mow the lawn when it needs to be mowed, take out the trash when it needs to be taken out, put the laundry up when it needs to be put up, and get the oil changed in my truck when it needs to be changed.
Once we start addressing tasks immediately, it becomes a habit. Anxiety helped me do this.
So there you go. Seven things anxiety has taught me. I’m grateful for these lessons, but they don’t make anxiety any less difficult in the moment.
Anxiety is meant to suck. It’s meant to make things difficult and uncomfortable for us until we do something to address the problem. The problem, unfortunately, is often unaddressable these days.
We worry about things like losing our job, not having enough money, divorce, and the general state of the world. Anxiety did not develop to address any of these things, so sometimes being comfortable with discomfort is the best we can offer ourselves.
Maybe that’s the last thing anxiety is teaching me.
James is a writer who wants to help people overcome challenges and make important changes in their lives. He has worked for over twenty years as a social worker, meditation teacher, and licensed professional counselor. Having found his home in life coaching, he helps others achieve their goals and create the life they want. As a writer, James shares helpful posts on Substack, writing thousands of words each month to inspire, challenge, and motivate his subscribers.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)
A few years ago, my sister-in-law gave me a stone plaque with a paraphrase of Psalm 127:3 which reads, “Children are a blessing from the Lord”. I noticed, however, that some days raising children didn’t necessarily seem like a blessing. That’s when I began to question my understanding of “blessing”.
Children are a gift from God meant to benefit us. How often, in my very human, narrow way of looking at life, I have wanted “blessing” that look like gifts under the Christmas tree; gifts that come with no requirement for growth and expansion.
Instead, I am learning that God’s perspective on blessing is so much greater than ours. His blessings sometimes nudge me to dig deep, expand, grow and deny self. I am learning the way of sacrifice and of caring for the needs of others. I am learning the way of love, patience and of seeking wisdom. Ultimately, God’s blessings help shape me into a follower of Jesus.
And that’s truly a blessing.
Reflect:
How is God currently stretching me with His blessings?
Prayer:
Dear Lord, You pour out Your blessings in so many ways. Please transform my thinking to see Your blessings for what they truly are, tools to transform me into a follower of Jesus.
by Idelette McVicker
used by permission
FURTHER READING
“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” Matthew 5:13 (MSG)
Can you face a situation that is out of your control without acting out of control? This is a tough question for many to answer. We are so prone to acting out when we are faced with difficult situations much less difficult people.
When we are faced with the choice of reacting or responding to the situation at hand, as a believer, we have a greater responsibility. We must remember that we are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. Our job is to maintain the character of God. When we act out of control rather than responding in wisdom we give others the wrong perspective of what a Christian looks like. No, that does not mean we have to be perfect, but it does mean when we miss it, we should be quick to make amends and get it right.
Emotions are not bad but they must be managed properly. If your buttons are always being pushed then you have handed over your power to other people, it’s time to take your control back. We must actively set boundaries for ourselves to ensure that we are not taken advantage of but we must remember that it is not our place to retaliate or put people in their place. It is God’s job to help change people. It is our place to love and respect others while leading them to Christ. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:14 if at all possible, we should live at peace with all men. This can be a challenge because we are faced with so many different personalities. If we stay in tuned with God He can help teach us how to handle each one.
My challenge to you today is to practice allowing God to fight your battles. How do you put that in action you may ask? Walk away when you are in a situation that you feel you have to yell to get your point across. Take some deep breaths and pray before responding to that irate individual. The point here is to maintain your control.
Father, it is my prayer that You will infuse those that are struggling in this area with inner strength. Your Word declares that You are a perfect help in the time of trouble. May they find the grace needed to keep it together when they want to lash out or act unseemly. May they find the grace needed to maintain their peace in the midst of turmoil. Heal the root issues that keep bringing them back to this response. Open the eyes of their understanding today, In Jesus name Amen.
Thought: What are you afraid of? When did you begin reacting the way you do?
What happened to get you to this place? Take a moment and journal your answers to the questions above.
By Mary Pinckney
Used by Permission
Learn more about how you can know Jesus in a personal way at:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws
FURTHER READING
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The first miracle of Jesus was at a wedding—no small event. For several days, there was gift-giving, speech making, food-eating, and wine-drinking. Hospitality was a sacred duty The absence of wine was a social embarrassment. Mary asks her son to help, and he tells her that his “time has not yet come.” But he changed his plan to meet the needs of his friends.
This miracle tells us that what matters to you matters to God. You are his child. So go ahead. Tell God what hurts. He won’t turn you away or think it’s silly. Hebrews 4:15-16 says,
“For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses…Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace.”
Does God care about the little things in our lives? You better believe it.
By Max Lucado
used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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From: He Still Moves Stones
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Father God’s Intimate Love Letter to You
My three-year-old twirls before me in her satin princess dress, a sparkle in her eye. She loves what she hears from her mom: “You’re beautiful, honey!” It’s a desire God has put inside her heart because he made her for beauty. My affirmation means the world. Why? It’s a reflection of her Creator’s declaration of “very good” (Gen. 1:31).
And yet, if I’m not careful, I can subtly communicate to my little girl two things: that beauty is only skin-deep and that beauty is the only thing that matters. The world unabashedly shouts these messages already, so how can we counter them as we seek to raise our daughters in the faith? How can we tell her she’s beautiful in ways that really matter?
There’s nothing wrong with giving compliments. We can show kindness and love as we encourage others. But I do wonder if too often the first thing we say to other females is about how she appears on the outside: “You look so cute today.” “You’re amazing!” “You’re gonna have all the boys coming around some day.” God is clear that he is not impressed by appearance but looks into the heart (1 Sam. 16:7), for character matters more to him than countenance.
Again, there’s nothing bad about saying, “Well done!” when your child wins their soccer game; this is a reflection of our Father’s smile (Zeph. 3:17; Matt. 25:21). We don’t want to be uncompassionately silent because we’re scared about saying something “wrong.” But we can focus on character, which we hope will help our girls do the same: “You persevered this season and showed a lot of diligence. Praise God for that!” Our words glorify God through the good work he’s doing within our kids, and that happens as we prioritize the character he is forming in them.
This devotional, written for girls ages 9–12, explores the theme of beauty to help young readers appreciate the beauty of God, and in turn, become more beautiful themselves.
In the gospel story, God’s affection isn’t something we earn but something that’s bestowed upon us. He loves us because he loves us (Deut. 7:6–8). His grace is a free gift (Rom. 5:15). But our flesh and world operate from a different story: affection must be earned. We have a huge opportunity to defy this tale by telling God’s instead, and we can do this by reminding our girls often of our affection, which stands regardless of what she looks like or what she has or hasn’t done.
This might look like a note in her lunchbox: “Praying for you today, and miss you!” It might look like a random “I love you” in an unexpected moment. It could mean open arms, listening ears, and an unshaken spirit when she confesses something hard. It always means forgiving her when she fails. And yes, it might mean a well-timed word: “Do you know that you’re beautiful, inside and out?” For these are the ways God loves us: thinking of us (Ps. 139:17–18), blessing us (Eph. 1:3–5), receiving us (Luke 15:11–32), and covering our sins (1 Pet. 4:8). Our God is love, and we have the marvelous privilege of showing his unconditional affection to our girls, both in our words and our actions.
What message are we communicating through our example? It’s a humbling question, but it’s worth asking. If I’m constantly needing to “put on my face” before showing myself in public, that tells my daughters that beauty means a certain manner of appearance rather than simply being who God made me. As one example, I have made it a point on some days to wear no makeup and dress casually. I want them to know that it’s good to be comfortable and content in their own skin. Similarly, if I am always reaching for the next “new thing” to satisfy me, or if I’m scrolling my phone to affirm my identity, how can I expect her to do anything different? As they look at us, our girls are watching and wondering, What makes me beautiful?
Now, this is not prescriptive, and some readers will come to different conclusions about what contentment looks like. But generally, Scripture bundles contentment with godliness and says they are “great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). What lens should we look through to help us discern what’s best? “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Tim. 6:7). We might ask ourselves: What are the things that will last forever? This isn’t to say that earthly gifts can’t be enjoyed—in Christ they are made holy and can honor him (1 Tim. 4:4–5)—but that earthly gifts are not ultimate. We will model contentment as we discern the difference and live as examples before our daughters.
Our God is love, and we have the marvelous privilege of showing his unconditional affection to our girls, both in our words and our actions.
Each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator (Ps. 139:13–14) with a unique purpose in the grand plan of God (Isa. 64:8). But the fallen world around us would distort these truths into autonomy and self-actualization: “Live for yourself!” “Be who you want to be!” “You do you!” The Christian gospel has a better message: “You’re made for something bigger than yourself—for an eternity of joy with Jesus. Now be who he made you to be!”
We have the privilege of countering the world’s empty mantras and reminding our girls of God’s undeniable, beautiful truth. We can remind her of her God-given purpose any time we pray for her, answer her hard and sensitive questions, process what’s happened that day, and encourage her when she’s down. This doesn’t happen once but in a thousand tiny moments over years and decades. Each one matters, and God can use them all to tell her longing heart, “You are beautiful because you are his.”
Above everything and undergirding it all, the Word of God must be the mirror we use to discern what true and lasting beauty is, and what it looks like to reflect his beautiful glory (James 1:22–25). This is true for us as older women, and it will be true for our daughters too.
Are we looking daily into God’s law of liberty, which frees us from the lies of this world? Or are we letting the world’s distorted funhouse mirrors dictate what beauty is? The Spirit can use our example from the word and our teaching of it to reach into the hearts of these young ones and speak a different story—a story of hope: “For the coastlands shall hope for me . . . for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful” (Isa. 60:8–9). May this good news of beautiful glory be our anthem, and may we speak it over our daughters every day as both her present reality and her future hope in the Lord Jesus, whose word has the final say.
Kristen Wetherell is the author of What Makes You Beautiful: 20 Daily Devotions for Girls.
Beauty Is in the Eye of the True Beholder
We know there is such a thing as beauty. We know this biblically. And if the Bible stipulates certain things as beautiful, then there really is beauty in the eye of the Beholder, with a capital B.
“What Makes You Beautiful”—A Poem by Kristen Wetherell
What makes you beautiful, my dear? What’s in your heart? Why are you here?
Common Lies Young Girls Believe About Beauty
It is so easy for girls—young or old—to believe worldly lies about beauty. The world will tell us that our beauty is found in the way that we look, and we better look a certain way.
Podcast: The Message Your Daughter Needs to Hear from You (Kristen Wetherell)
Kristen Wetherell talks through helping our daughters view themselves the way God views them, and how parents can lead them in a counter cultural, biblical way.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3
Thought
He restores my soul. My that sounds so good. But it is more than talk. When we’ve reached that point that we can’t go on, God blesses us with strength to just keep on walking. When we’re in a struggle and things are tough, his power upholds us and we run to victory. When we’re winning victories in his name, we can soar on wings like eagles. He is a shepherd and more. He is the Rock and Sustainer of our lives!
Prayer
O Gentle Shepherd, help me rest tonight in your grace and in the confidence that you are nearby. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
By Phil Ware
used by permission
From: http://www.heartlight.org
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Because heaven is portrayed in the Scriptures with metaphors and symbols, many people think of heaven as ethereal. Gary Larson captures the misconception of heaven in his Far Side comic strip. In one cartoon, a man with angel wings and a halo sits on a cloud. With absolutely nothing to do, he wears an expression of boredom, and a caption explains his thoughts: “Wish I’d brought a magazine.”
C. S. Lewis flipped the script on this ethereal view of heaven in The Great Divorce, an imaginary tale of a trip from hell to heaven. He describes hell as shadowland—ghostlike and transparent. In contrast, the future heaven will be solid and heavy. Lewis describes the grass, rocks, trees, and water in heaven as much more solid than things in our own country. Everything in heaven is hard, like diamonds. The main character in the story—who has only experienced the immaterial dark shadows of hell—can’t pluck a flower, pick up a leaf, or drink the water. This is how Lewis puts it:
A grove of huge cedars to my right seemed attractive and I entered it. Walking proved difficult. The grass, hard as diamonds to my unsubstantial feet, made me feel as if I were walking on wrinkled rock. . . . A bird ran across in front of me and I envied it. It belonged to that country and was as real as the grass. It could bend the stalks and spatter itself with the dew.1,
You might be thinking that this picture of heaven is unattractive. Who wants grass to cut their feet? But Lewis’s point is that heaven is not less real than this world but more real. It is so full of substance that even the grass won’t bend under our current insubstantial bodies.
In this accessible study, Patrick Schreiner explores the history, theology, and ethics of the resurrection, helping both Christians and seekers understand what is true, good, and beautiful about Jesus’s victory over death.
Lewis’s weighty view is supported in the Scriptures, which describe heaven as a new earth, a new city, and a new home. Our future heaven is described as a new earth:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (Rev. 21:1)
The Scriptures imagine the final destiny as a new earth with rivers, mountains, trees, and flowers. Some of the best descriptions of heaven, like Lewis’s, use what we see here but reach for a higher reality. The Scriptures also describe our future heaven as a new city:
By faith Abraham obeyed. . . . For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. . . . For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is come. (Heb. 11:8, 10; 13:14)
Combining these images of a new earth and new city, some have described heaven as a garden-city.
Finally, the Bible encourages us to see our future heaven as our new home. Jesus says that in his “Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). Notice that Jesus describes heaven as a real place, using physical images to describe it (a house with rooms). He gives his disciples something tangible to think about. Understanding that heaven is a home helps us begin to conceive of what we will do in heaven. In ancient homes, people worked, fellowshiped with those they loved, and rested. This means that in heaven we will work, fellowship with those we love, and rest. Jesus has gone to prepare rooms for us so that we can be with him and our loved ones forever. Somewhere deep in the human heart is a longing for our true home.
At the end of Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the characters finally arrives at heaven and says, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.”2 Heaven will be like our earth, our cities, our homes—but transformed.
If our future heaven is a real, physical place, then what will we be like? Will we have bodies? Or will we be souls that float around? According to Randy Alcorn, most views of our eternal home are anti-incarnational.3 Any talk of resurrection that is not bodily is a flat-out contradiction. The Scriptures affirm that we will receive new resurrected bodies like Jesus’s: Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Cor. 15:49)
The Lord Jesus Christ . . . will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. (Phil. 3:20–21)
When [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
Nevertheless, this still raises the question of what these new bodies will be like. While some mystery remains, there are texts that give us some help. One of these texts is the account of the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt. 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36). When Jesus goes up on the mountain with his disciples, he shows them what our future bodies will be like. Jesus’s body is “transfigured” (Matt. 17:2), translating a Greek term from which we derive our word metamorphosis. When we hear the term metamorphosis, we likely think of how a butterfly morphs from an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to a butterfly. Metamorphosis rightly refers to physical change.
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Jesus’s transfiguration gives a preview of how our bodies will change. Jesus’s face shone like the sun (Matt. 17:2; Luke 9:29), and his clothes became as white as light, radiantly white (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:3; Luke 9:29). Nevertheless, the disciples recognize Jesus, so there is some sort of continuity. Jesus’s body is not discarded or cast aside. Similarly, in the resurrection, our bodies will not be annihilated but glorified, not destroyed but renewed.
Jesus’s resurrection confirms this. The empty tomb means that his resurrection involved the same body in which he was crucified. When Jesus is raised, he returns to the ordinary activities of bodily life. He eats (Luke 24:41–43; John 21:12–13), walks (Luke 24:13–17), and talks (Matt. 28:9–10). He even reassures them that he is not a ghost (Luke 24:39). Most importantly, when Jesus is raised, his disciples touch the scars on his body (Luke 24:39–40; John 20:27). Christ was not a different person after the resurrection but the same person.
Yet, Jesus’s embodiment is also strangely different than his body before. Jesus appears out of nowhere (Luke 24:15), vanishes (Luke 24:31), and doesn’t seem to have to go through doors (John 20:26). Those who knew him best don’t recognize him (Luke 24:16; John 20:14). The point is that Jesus’s body is both different and the same. Paul reflects on the nature of our raised bodies in one of his letters:
There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; . . . So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body; there is also a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:40–44)
This text can be confusing for those who assume that “heavenly” and “spiritual” mean non-physical. However, Paul insists that we will have bodies. To say they are “spiritual” bodies doesn’t describe their substance but what animates them. We will have bodies governed by the Spirit.
Therefore, our resurrection bodies will have similarities and dissimilarities with our earthly bodies. The disciples both recognize Jesus and don’t recognize him. Augustine says we will be able to consume food like Jesus did but not out of need.4Thus, we will have our same bodies, but they will be upgraded. Maybe we can compare it to the renovation of a house. My wife loves to watch programs that trace the transformation of a house. What once looked old and deteriorating is suddenly bright and new. The house is the same but has now been transformed.
The most wonderful thing about heaven is that we will finally see God face-to-face.
While it is good to speak of our new home and our new bodies, there can be a tendency to focus on these things and make heaven a “super-sized earth” and our bodies a “superhero self.” Some might conclude from the above that we will have the same bodies but with six packs. Or we will live in cities, but they will all be as beautiful as the Italian Amalfi coast.
We also have to be careful of over-literalizing some of the images of heaven. What can be missed in a view of heaven that is merely an upgraded earth is that the best thing about heaven is not our new bodies or our new home. The most wonderful thing about heaven is that we will finally see God face-to-face. As Samuel Parkison rightly states, “What makes heaven, heaven? Christianity’s resounding answer to that question throughout the centuries has been the [sight of God].”5
The good life is life with God. We could receive a new place to live and new bodies, but if God were not there it would not be good. We must remember that the best thing about heaven is that we will dwell with God. If God is absent, nothing else will satisfy. The Scriptures affirm that the best thing about heaven will be seeing God:
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple. (Ps. 27:4)For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. (1 Cor. 13:12)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matt. 5:8)
When [Jesus] appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
In our eternal state we will have immediate knowledge of God. Our new bodies and souls are simply a benefit. God is what heaven is all about. One of the great dangers of viewing heaven as only an upgraded home and body is that we would begin to view God as a means to something else rather than an end in himself.
In other words, we can be tempted to treat God as a sort of Santa Claus who is only good for what he can give us. We may assume that once we have his gifts, we won’t really need him. However, the Scriptures argue that the goodness of heaven is God himself. That is because he himself is the very nature of the good and the source of all that is good.
Even with all these descriptions of heaven, some might still suppose that heaven will be boring because we won’t grow. Do we simply stare at God and sing? That might not sound too exciting. Can you imagine living for eternity and never growing in knowledge, physical ability, or even delight? That sounds more like hell than heaven.
The problem is that too many Christians and non-Christians have a static conception of heaven. The Scriptures and the Christian tradition portray heaven as a place where we are completely happy but also continually grow. It will be like climbing to one mountain summit (or riding the gondola for those who don’t like hiking) to see the vista, only to find that countless more summits await even further up, with glory to behold.
While those in heaven will experience abundant joy, they will also continually learn, grow, and strain toward more. They will perpetually strive toward the inexhaustible God. Since God is infinite, our sight of God will always be progressive. Perfection is not static but continual movement toward God.
The Christian life, even in heaven, is not one merely of acquisition but of pursuit––continual pursuit. Our sight and growth will progress in the eternal state. We will be continuously changed as we behold God. Our future will include infinite progress toward the perfection that exists in God.
While this may sound like we are never fulfilled in heaven, the idea is that once we have reached one degree of fulfillment, we then long for more. We arrive at joy and then realize that deeper joy awaits us. We reach one mountain peak and realize that another one beckons us. In heaven there will be eternal progress. To put it in the words of Lewis, we go “further up and further in.”6
In heaven we will dwell on a new earth with our new bodies. But most importantly, we will see God face-to-face and be completely happy. The resurrection of the dead is not only true but also good, even very good (Gen. 1:31).
Notes:
Patrick Schreiner is the author of The Hope of the Resurrection: How Jesus’s Defeat of Death Changes Everything.
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