Entertainment in the Kingdom: What Will Be Different?

Sep 2, 2009
6 minutes read time
Entertainment in the Kingdom: What Will Be Different?
Entertainment in the Kingdom: What Will Be Different?
UCG.org

There is nothing quite like spending the Feast of Tabernacles with family and friends in God's Church. How will our experiences during the Feast compare to those we have after Jesus Christ returns to this earth?

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Having grown up in God's Church, I have many fond memories of Feast of Tabernacles gone by. When I was very young, I remember the enjoyable time with my family, the abundance of food and gifts. As I grew older and began to mature more, I remember the Feast in a different way. When I was 19 years old, my family and I traveled to Australia and attended four different Feast sites spread across the country. I remember meeting many people, lots of traveling, great food and the long but rewarding flight home when my father gave me my final baptism counseling before he would baptize me a day later. I remember the first Feast I attended after being married and the first Feast we spent with our children. In both cases I found myself seeing and appreciating different facets of the Feast of Tabernacles that I had never before considered. There is nothing quite like sharing the highlight of the year with one's spouse and children—not to mention grandchildren for those grandparents in the Church. As I look back over the many years of keeping the Feast, a few questions occur to me. Why is the Feast so enjoyable? What is it that we do that makes it the highlight of the year? How will our experiences during the Feast compare to those we have during the Millennium after Jesus Christ returns to this earth? During that time, the firstfruits will serve alongside Jesus Christ in teaching the world the truth of God (1 Corinthians 15:23-24, Revelation 20:6). But how will we teach correct forms of entertainment and fun to all those left on this earth and those born during the Millennium? When we are young, we tend to concern ourselves with being entertained, but as we mature we begin to have an appreciation for the act of entertaining. It is an honor to serve others, to spend time fellowshipping, and it is most definitely rewarding as well. In an effort to get us thinking about what entertainment will be like after Jesus Christ returns to this earth, let's consider a few points that we can learn from the Bible on this subject. Developing Relationships Unlike today's world where children and adults seek to be entertained by television, video games and iPods, entertainment in the world following Jesus Christ's return will revolve around developing relationships. Instead of separating or isolating ourselves from one another, God shows us that He wants people to interact with one another. "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24). He wants people to stimulate one another by fellowshipping, by encouraging one another and by serving one another. People will be spending time helping one another as the earth will be rebuilt (Isaiah 65:21-23). At the same time, Jesus Christ will be teaching the world all about unity (Philippians 2:1-4). You may or may not have thought about how much entertainment plays a role in unity; but when we entertain one another, we build relationships. As we build relationships, we strengthen bonds between us and create greater unity, as we submit to God and His ways. A Lesson From the Zone One of our most successful programs in the Church today is the United Youth Camps program. We do our best to create an environment that is far removed from this world, an environment that is as millennial as possible. We call that environment the Zone. One of the ways we create the Zone occurs the moment the campers arrive. At check-in, campers turn in their cell phones to camp staff. In addition, there are no iPods, and we don't watch television. In short, we "unplug" for the week. Combine that with daily Christian Living classes, team-building activities, eating meals together, fellowshipping together and playing together and the outcome is an invigorating and uplifting atmosphere that instills confidence, courage and discipline. This is the kind of entertainment that the world will be involved in following Christ's return. Entertainment in God's Kingdom won't tear others down. Tragically, entertainment for so many people today is listening to comedy that berates or belittles. That is not how God thinks or operates, and we can be sure that entertainment will not involve anything of that nature during the Millennium. The apostle Peter reminds us of what we are to be doing today in preparation for Christ's return in 1 Peter 4:7-11, and he also makes it clear how God thinks and what kind of entertainment He will be teaching at that time. In verse 8 we read, "Above all things have fervent love for one another." Clearly any entertainment that Jesus Christ teaches will not involve harm to others. Entertainment at the Feast When reminiscing of Feasts gone by and in preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles 2009, consider these three questions: • Am I participating in entertainment today that is pleasing to God? • What kind of entertainment am I planning on participating in at the Feast? Is it something God would be well pleased with? • Based on what I participate in at the Feast, have I matured? In other words, is entertainment to me still "that which entertains" or has it developed to mean much more than that? Satan would love nothing more than to have us attend the Feast without really being engaged in it. He would love for us to choose to be "isolated." He would love for us to tie up our time by watching television, by listening to our iPods, by surfing the Internet. He would love for us to find a way to entertain ourselves that would lead to guilt or regret. We cannot let that happen. We have to choose to be engaged in the work of God. We have to choose to fellowship with one another. We have to choose to uplift and encourage one another. We have to choose to build our relationships with one another. The apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:8, gives us a real glimpse into what kind of entertainment God's Kingdom has in store and the kind of entertainment He expects us to participate in, not only at this year's Feast but throughout the year: "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, it there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." How we entertain and what entertains us tells God where our hearts and minds are. Virtually every Feast site has several planned activities. These activities are designed to educate, to be fun, to promote fellowship with one another and to help us draw closer to God and our spiritual family members. Let's make every effort to entertain others while we are at the Feast, if we are able. And certainly, we should all make great effort to participate in entertainment that is inspiring, uplifting, encouraging and good clean fun! UN
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Mark Winner

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