The following is an excerpt from Mixtape Theology, a Bible study and retrospective inspired by '90s Contemporary Christian music and culture, available now from NRT Books and authors Rachel Cash and William "Ashley" Mofield. Mixtape Theology takes '90s CCM fans to "Another Time, and Another Place" to "Dive" into the biblical passages behind their favorite 90s contemporary Christian music (CCM). Full of nostalgia, renewed wonder, and a lot of '90s cheese, readers are encouraged to fall in love with these songs and the gospel all over again.
Welcome, fellow mixtape theologian! If you are reading this book in order, "Heaven in the Real World" is the first song on our 35-song theological mixtape.
With each song, let the nostalgia run free. Explore old memories and remember how it felt to learn these truths for the first time. Those recollections can be tools that motivate you to explore familiar ideas again with renewed curiosity. Listen to each song along the way. Grab your Bible. Enjoy His presence and His infallible Word, and I promise you'll recapture some of that wonder.
As we continue together, you will be encouraged to consider how your understanding of theological concepts, such as the ones alluded to in these songs, have changed since the 90s. At the top of each devotion, you'll see how our impressions have evolved--sometimes correcting our mistakes, while other times just understanding a little more deeply. Feel free to jot down your own 90s vs Today's Impressions to observe your own growth. You might be surprised at the difference!
If you are new to 90s CCM, welcome to the club. You may not have a 90s impression of these particular songs, and that's totally OK. Just jump in wherever you are!
Ready to dive in and go deep?
Do you remember your first impressions of "Heaven in the Real World"? For me, I heard it from a cassette. I devoured the liner notes and listened to the album in its entirety alone in one sitting. There was just something really captivating about the idea of Jesus being Heaven in the real world.
My understanding of that concept was pretty basic. I was in middle school--young, carefree, and new in the faith. You know what I've learned since those good ol' days? Living in the real world is exhausting. Some days, simply existing feels like a challenge. Like a game of survival of the fittest, it's a dramatic narrative full of conflict. Humanity seems perpetually broken down, worn out, and busted up.
"Heaven in the Real World" sits differently as a grown-up, you know? Not surprising, one of the most appealing aspects of the traditional view of a Christian afterlife (what we might refer to as "Heaven") is that it represents an escape from this world. Instead of despair, in Heaven we have fulfilled hope. Instead of strife, we get eternal peace. Finally, we can rest.
While that is certainly true and worth hoping for, is the Christian life really just about waiting around until the afterlife? Are we just living long goodbye? Are we stuck in a waiting room until we get called? See ya, wouldn't want to be ya?
I think the good things in Heaven that we look forward to are not just reserved for after death. What about this life? Is it possible for Heaven to be found in the real world?
I still remember the first time I watched the music video for "Heaven in the Real World." In it, we follow a lonely, armor-clad boy who spends his days fighting battles with his sword and shield at the ready. Daily, he walks past a gate where waving children beckon him to join them on the other side.
Finally, one day, it's as if he notices their cries for the first time. He follows them through the gate's old, busted door. He lays down his heavy armor and enjoys freedom in a bright and beautiful Heaven on earth. This simple picture of the gospel--freedom, light, and life in God's presence--brought me to tears.
But that's not the end of the video. The boy doesn't stay there. Exiting through the same door, he steps out again into our world. Changed and clothed in white, he now walks with a mission.
To make sense of this mission, you've got to know what happened to the boy in this story because it's our story, too.
We begin in Eden. It was Heaven in the real world. In The Unseen Realm, biblical scholar Michael Heiser observed that Eden was God's holy mountain, the place where both Heaven and Earth came together under God's reign. In Eden, Heaven and Earth were one (See Ezekiel 28:14.).
It was all good in the hood, and God declared it so. Human citizenship in Eden included joyful intimacy with God, meaningful work, and the pleasures of the garden. Eden was a place of life and freedom--because God reigned there. His kingdom rule, not the garden itself, is what made living there Heaven on earth (See Genesis 1:31.).
Alas, Adam and Eve joined forces with an opposing power in Eden to overthrow the rule of the King in His own kingdom. Banished as exiles, they no longer lived in His good kingdom. Humanity forfeited its access to the throne of God and the life and freedom that came with it. We lost Heaven (See Genesis 3:17.).
In Eden, we were free rulers under a glorious King. Outside of it, we become dying slaves to the cruel master of sin (See Ephesians 2:1-3.). Our heart remembers what we had and cries out for what we've lost (See Psalm 84.).
God is the only one who can rescue us from the dark domain we now call our real world. However, He saves us not by snatching us into a glorious afterlife, but rather by bringing Heaven to us. His rule and
reign returns to Earth through King Jesus.
At just the right time in history, God Himself, our Immanuel, became flesh and dwelt among us. As King, He came to Earth and brought His kingdom with Him, reclaiming whom and what is rightfully His. Jesus mentioned this reclamation when He prayed, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10; see also Genesis 3:15; Matthew 1:23; 3:2; John 1:4-5; 2 Corinthians 8:9.).
Adam and Eve had to leave God's presence, but through Jesus, we are invited back in. Colossians 1:13-14 says it all, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Jesus' payment for our sins at the cross rescues us from our lonely exile and returns us to the nearness of God's throne. We are invited to seek His kingdom because it can now be found (See Matthew 6:33; John 10:10; Ephesians 3:11-12; 1 John 2:2.).
Let's go back to the imagery of the "Heaven in the Real World" music video. Remember that busted door that the boy walked through? Jesus is the door and through Him is access to the glorious riches found at His throne. He reigns. We have been rescued. Heavenly citizenship has been reinstated. Through our King, our hope and peace, Heaven is here in the real world for all those who repent and believe (See Mark 1:15; John 10:7; Ephesians 2:4-8; Colossians 1:22.).
Remember the boy who now walked with a mission? Want to know what that mission is? Keep reading. We've got a "New Way to be Human."
An excerpt from 'Mixtape Theology,' a Bible study and retrospective inspired by 90s Contemporary Christian music and culture, available now from NRT Books and authors Rachel Cash and William "Ashley" Mofield
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