Only God Knows Where We Stand in Line
Yes, only God knows where we stand in line. What I mean is that Jesus indicated there is some difference in rank that could exist between believers in heaven , and we do not have enough information to rank. James and John’s Mom brings out the issue.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Jesus could have said all people are equal in heaven, but he said they were not equal, and he could not say who had what spots.
This gives me a picture of a rank order line in heaven. Though none likely exist, the picture helps me.
Who is first, second and so on in this line? Jesus also said the first will be last and said the tax collector was better than the Pharisee when he prayed before God. Clearly, God thinks about this different than we do.
God Knows Where We Stand – As It Should Be
This idea grew in me in the first few years of marriage as my deeply Christian wife lived a life so different than mine. I was ESTJ, and she was ENFJ for example. I started to ask myself what a healthy ESTJ and ENFJ looked like. It was clear our ideal state were different in Christ due to our difference in personality and gender. She was a failure at following my rules, and I was a failure at following her rules. Who could fairly and correctly decide if she or I was ahead in line?
I knew that I could not fairly make that big a judgement. This translates into all our relationships. Who am I to say that one person or another is closer to God than me? Only God knows and rightly so. We can just be his children and not compare among each other.
