Earthly and heavenly Jerusalem

On 21 January, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted a divine service in Kibungo, about 100 kilometres south-east of the capital, Kigali. Approximately one thousand people attended. The Bible text served as a reminder that one day everyone will have to leave this earth: “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come”. (Hebrews 13: 14). This is not a very pleasant thought, Chief Apostle Schneider said. We might even think, “It’s terrible to be told that we all must die.”

However, this fact should not frighten us, but rather make us aware once again that we need to prepare for what comes after our earthly existence: “Our life on earth is a very small part of our existence. There is an afterlife. But what we do while we live on this earth determines the rest of our existence in the afterlife.”

The Chief Apostle said that none of us know how much time we have left on this earth and urged the brothers and sisters, “Don’t wait! If you want to do something good for your loved ones, do it now. You don’t know how much time you have left.”

God’s will

Even if our body and earthly life will pass away, this does not mean that Christians must be out of touch with reality. “He gave us our life, our body, and our strength for us to use, and He wants us to benefit from this life.” He wants us to take our place in society. He wants us to work towards our happiness and success on this earth. And He wants us to contribute to the well-being of our fellow human beings and our children. But always in a way that God’s will is fulfilled.

Because only those who have learned to do the will of God will then also be able to enter the kingdom of God, the city to come.

Leaving the old Jerusalem

In verse 13 of Hebrews 13, the author urges the people to go outside the camp, to leave Jerusalem, because Jesus is to be found outside. The Chief Apostle then went on to explain why it was important to leave this city.

Jerusalem is the city that rejected Jesus. The attitude of the people in Jerusalem was: the Messiah must solve our problems here on earth. Jesus, on the other hand, said that His kingdom was not of this world and that He wanted to bring eternal life. So even today’s believers must give up the idea that Jesus is here to perform miracles and improve our earthly existence.

Jerusalem was also the city that demanded that Jesus punish sinners. To enter the city to come we must leave this old city, this point of view. The Chief Apostle exhorted the congregation: “Leave the Jerusalem where Jesus is expected to perform miracles and punish the sinner.”

Seeking the city to come

“This city is yet to come. We can’t see it yet. The only proof we have is the word of God and the promise of Jesus,” Chief Apostle Schneider pointed out.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you,” Jesus says. To be able to enter this city, we must seriously seek it, Chief Apostle Schneider said. “Jesus said that He would give eternal life only to those who hunger and thirst for it. In other words, those who really want it.”

This is why we must implore God in prayer: “Pray without ceasing.”

We can ask the Lord for this in prayer because we know that the Lord will answer this prayer because He is praying the same thing. This request is in complete harmony with God’s will. “We ask for it for ourselves and for our neighbour. And we ask God to bless His church and complete it because it is in the church of Christ, through the apostolate, that He wants to give human beings eternal life today.”

Those who seek in this way, need fellowship with God already now: “We need to talk to God every day, on a regular basis, and entrust our joys and sorrows to Him.”

Perfect fellowship with God also includes our fellow human beings: “We learn not to wait for others to change so that we can love them, but to love them as they are. Because we must prepare ourselves for eternal fellowship with others, we must learn about eternal fellowship today.”