Recapturing Eternity

By Ralph Berry

Recapturing Eternity is about the disillusioning and painful journey that many saints are presently experiencing in their search for God. It was written for the misfits who have dared to ask the hard questions. It’s for my fellow trouble makers, who wonder if the Western church’s current trajectory is spiraling in the wrong direction. This book is for untold thousands of saints who feel their hearts rebelling against it. Recapturing Eternity is for those with a nagging suspicion that our current church model has run its course. It’s for those who are tormented with the thought that Sunday after Sunday we may be simply pouring new wine into old wine skins. This book is about recapturing an eternal perspective. The work examines how eternity should impact our views on aspects of modernity, worship, the mission of the church, Christian warfare, the lusts of the world, and our identity as pilgrims.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684700974

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Berry

Copyright © 2019 Ralph Berry.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Public Domain

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 978-1-6847-0089-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6847-0097-4 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 04/09/2019

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to say thank you to my beautiful wife, Candy, through whom the comforting voice of Christ has come to me in times of trial and travail. She is so much better a woman than I shall ever deserve. Thank you Art Katz. You were the mentor that I never knew. To my friends, Wes and Robert, you two have really helped me in my journey with God. I would like to express my gratitude to Ma Patti, who always manages to talk some sense into me when I’m spiritually confused or disillusioned. A big thank you to my wonderful mother, because through her the first seeds of the gospel were planted in my heart. Thank you, to all of my Anabaptist brothers who have really taught me the privilege, as well as the cost, of community. I would like to send a big thanks to my co-worker, Barb, as well as the gal I nicknamed Sunshine. They helped me with all my jacked-up grammar and spelling. Thank you to Erez, Maria, and my 1.8 percent Japanese friend Seth (long story), because my jacked-up grammar required more help than I previously thought.

FOREWORD

By Wes Wagner

The author of this book, Ralph Berry, and I had a conversation a few years ago. I remember at some point in the conversation almost screaming out something along the lines, It just doesn’t make sense; there has to be something more to our faith. It was then that he laid down a challenge which changed everything for me. He began to speak with me about having an eternal perspective. He suggested that—if I was willing and brave enough— I pray to God that He would open my eyes and let me see the world for what it is. I agreed, told him that I was willing, and that I did want to see.

I think what I expected to see is my heart breaking for, say, a homeless person on the street, or someone who was struggling at work, or someone sick. There are all kinds of tragedies in this world, and I just assumed I would see that…along with the ultra-rich wasting and squandering their lives away on wealth (or some stereotypical Christian cliché like that). But what happened was quite different. What happened changed the way I do everyday life. Once your eyes start to open, it’s pretty tough to unsee what God has shown you.

A few evenings passed with consistent prayer for God to open my eyes, and then one night, I experienced something so simple yet profound. My oldest son was in choir, and the school was hosting their Christmas concert. I remember getting out of the truck and how cold the air was. Minnesota winters are cold…sometimes so cold it hurts to breathe, and this was one of those nights. We found our seats in a crowded, excited auditorium. Christmas was here and people, including myself, were visibly excited for the holiday and all the events that surround it. The first song started, and the crowd settled in for the show. You could see parents and grandparents picking their child out of the crowd, pointing, and whispering amongst themselves. The music was good, really good. A couple traditional Christmas songs were sung; then the one song changed everything.

The song was about the Christmas spirit…unfortunately, it was not about the Holy Spirit at all. The song was about really nice things: loving each other, giving gifts, kindness….really nice things. I remember starting to feel uneasy and looking around the crowd. The people had smiles— real Christmas smiles— and tears starting to roll. All the oooohs, aaaahs, and beautifuls started to come out of the crowd. At that moment, one of the boys from the choir program walked up to the Christmas tree and majestically held up a present to really drive home the giving message. It was that moment, looking at the crowd in tears and listening to this song that I realized: We do life without God. The world (and me for the most part) did life void of anything Christ. Year after year, how had I not seen that we celebrated the birth of Christ without daring to invite him to the party?

My eyes began to open that day. It was not so much about how we made a mess of a Christmas program. It was more about needing to make changes in my own life to be sure I would experience every aspect of it WITH GOD. It was such a simple choir program. I would have typically just sat through and clapped at the end. But the prayers and willingness to have God open my eyes changed everything and turned it into a show which I will never forget.

This was the beginning of what was turning out to be quite the journey. It all started out with simple admonitions to live life in light of eternity. I have known Ralph for years and have watched his faithfulness towards God. He has helped me and I believe many others to thoroughly consider whether we are living our lives and making our decisions with eternity in view. When I started getting to know him, I could tell that there was a depth and a seriousness about him. He spoke of this eternal perspective and challenged others to live with that same reality. His life, ministry, and writings have powerfully reflected this same aim. For this reason, I wholeheartedly endorse this work and believe that you will be encouraged, challenged, and gain insight into living in light of eternity.

CHAPTER ONE

Preface

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D o you ever remember a time in your life when you laid sight on a blessed thing, a spiritual aspiration? Even though you had not attained it, from a distance, you were captivated. You knew that you had to have it. So, you set out on a journey to obtain it. Finally, victory came. You captured the spiritual pursuit which so mesmerized you. With affections elevated to great heights, you embraced your blessed gift. Then, without any prior warning, you were stunned with a most terrible realization: The thing you had captured was merely an illusion or, at best, a bad imitation of what you had first laid eyes on.

Over the past few years, the Master has brought me to the knowledge that this was indeed my condition. The thing I so sought after was a life drenched with the dew of God’s presence, a life which was His, and a life where I could proclaim as the apostle Paul, to live is Christ. I so desired this heavenly yoke with the Master. I longed to know God in the same way as the apostolic giants of the past. For a short time, I assumed this reality was mine. I believed I had finally apprehended a deeper sense of that which was invisible. As hard as the truth was to come to, it had to be considered and embraced: My Christianity had become a delusion of my own making.

Could this premise, so heart-rending and altogether foreign, possibly be true? Was there no God reigning in my heart? Of course there was…. to some degree; lest, I was even as a heathen. Salvation was not in question here, but it was the question of experience which so captured my thoughts. I could no longer comfortably make statements like, God told me to… or The presence of God was mighty in church. Even more unnerving was the fact that American Christianity, especially within Pentecostal circles, constantly surrounded me with people who made such statements.

I eventually realized that some hard questions had to be asked. What was this unreality permeating nearly all of my Christianity? Was this voice so many of us claimed to hear the same voice which drove the apostles, even to martyrdom? If I, and my fellow ministers, were appointed to proclaim a message with eternal ramifications, then why was there this constant levity? Why was seriousness regarding eternal matters often frowned upon? If we were pilgrims, in search of a homeland, then why were we so connected to this present land? I was backed into a corner. I was forced to admit that if the God-infused life detailed in Scripture was a present-day reality, then neither I nor most of those with whom I fellowshipped had tasted of it.

As time rolled along, what started out as a slight suspicion was finally embraced as true. I had followed a fog. The thing embraced and captured was an illusion, perhaps from hell itself. It had kept me, and I believe many others, pursuing a false reality, instead of a life radiating with that which was real. Somehow, my faith had degenerated into some kind of subculture. Somehow, I, and I believe many others, had lost or perhaps never known what it was to walk with an eternal perspective.

Pretty soon, the pain of my condition became altogether tormenting. With every service and every prayer, I was reminded of this unreality. With every benediction, I walked away staggered by what I had just encountered. I was disillusioned. My faith was no longer real to me and I had come to the point of spiritual crisis. I was no longer willing to go through the motion; so, I stopped.

Initially, I tried to bare my burden to those around me.