Heaven
"set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; set your minds on heavenly things, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:1-2)
Do you remember when you first discovered Disneyland? Your best friend across the street came straight from the airport and described the rides, the cotton candy, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the castles and pirates! You couldn’t believe such a place existed – all for kids! You told everyone you knew, dreamed about the day you could ride in Space Mountain and get a Mickey hat. You begged your parents to take you! After months of pleading, they finally agreed! You couldn’t believe it, you were actually going to Disneyland! Dragons and pirates and castles consumed your mind – it was all you could think about!
Most likely, when you got there, Disneyland was not exactly as you imagined -- but the thinking of what it could be and anticipation of arriving had completely changed your behavior towards your parents, took your mind off the toy you didn’t get last week and gave you a joyous horizon to look forward to… and when you actually arrived, hugging Donald Duck, feeling the sharp curves of Space Mountain and eating the unlimited ice cream went far beyond anything your five-year-old mind could imagine.
Heaven for a believer, in my estimation, is no different. God gives us lots of clues in his word as to what our eternity will look like… our heavenly bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-44), the glory of God shining like the sun and our new responsibilities in Heaven. I love imagining meeting all the saints and my friends and family (1 Thes. 4:14-18), receiving my crowns and laying them at Christ’s feet, having a completely unhindered relationship with my Father and living in my house prepared by Christ for eternity!
The more and more I think about it, the more I believe heaven will be a lot like life on earth today. Imagine life as you know it, but take out all sin, all evil, bad weather, your physical imperfections, your pains, your fears, the guy who cut you off last week, temptations and broken relationships (Revelation 21:4). It will be a time of learning and responsibility (Matt. 6:19-25; 25:20-21; Luke 19:17-19; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9,10) – as those who have been faithful with what they were given on earth will be made rulers of great cities in heaven. There will be intelligent thought and emotion (Rev. 6:10; 7:10). It will also be a time of reconciliation. For some, you will meet your aborted child for the first time – it will be a glorious and joyful embrace. For others, you’ll meet people you never knew you have impacted… and all the praise will go back to the Father. C.S. Lewis, in the Great Divorce, described how we will look upon our own sins on earth as if we were looking at the past sins of a good friend. There will be no shame, no pain, no pride, just understanding – we will count everything we did for the Lord as gain and everything we didn’t do for Him as loss.
One thing is for certain, heaven is what we long for as believers. (Phil. 3:14; 2 Tim. 4:8) It is the promise we have in our salvation, as this earth is not our real home. We’re just ambassadors on temporary duty assignment. One of my favorite quotes, which I am paraphrasing, says ‘A small amount of faith will get you into the Kingdom of Heaven, but a great faith will bring the Kingdom of Heaven to you.’
For more information on what the bible says about Heaven, check out this link: Click Here!
Do you remember when you first discovered Disneyland? Your best friend across the street came straight from the airport and described the rides, the cotton candy, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the castles and pirates! You couldn’t believe such a place existed – all for kids! You told everyone you knew, dreamed about the day you could ride in Space Mountain and get a Mickey hat. You begged your parents to take you! After months of pleading, they finally agreed! You couldn’t believe it, you were actually going to Disneyland! Dragons and pirates and castles consumed your mind – it was all you could think about!
Most likely, when you got there, Disneyland was not exactly as you imagined -- but the thinking of what it could be and anticipation of arriving had completely changed your behavior towards your parents, took your mind off the toy you didn’t get last week and gave you a joyous horizon to look forward to… and when you actually arrived, hugging Donald Duck, feeling the sharp curves of Space Mountain and eating the unlimited ice cream went far beyond anything your five-year-old mind could imagine.
Heaven for a believer, in my estimation, is no different. God gives us lots of clues in his word as to what our eternity will look like… our heavenly bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-44), the glory of God shining like the sun and our new responsibilities in Heaven. I love imagining meeting all the saints and my friends and family (1 Thes. 4:14-18), receiving my crowns and laying them at Christ’s feet, having a completely unhindered relationship with my Father and living in my house prepared by Christ for eternity!
The more and more I think about it, the more I believe heaven will be a lot like life on earth today. Imagine life as you know it, but take out all sin, all evil, bad weather, your physical imperfections, your pains, your fears, the guy who cut you off last week, temptations and broken relationships (Revelation 21:4). It will be a time of learning and responsibility (Matt. 6:19-25; 25:20-21; Luke 19:17-19; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9,10) – as those who have been faithful with what they were given on earth will be made rulers of great cities in heaven. There will be intelligent thought and emotion (Rev. 6:10; 7:10). It will also be a time of reconciliation. For some, you will meet your aborted child for the first time – it will be a glorious and joyful embrace. For others, you’ll meet people you never knew you have impacted… and all the praise will go back to the Father. C.S. Lewis, in the Great Divorce, described how we will look upon our own sins on earth as if we were looking at the past sins of a good friend. There will be no shame, no pain, no pride, just understanding – we will count everything we did for the Lord as gain and everything we didn’t do for Him as loss.
One thing is for certain, heaven is what we long for as believers. (Phil. 3:14; 2 Tim. 4:8) It is the promise we have in our salvation, as this earth is not our real home. We’re just ambassadors on temporary duty assignment. One of my favorite quotes, which I am paraphrasing, says ‘A small amount of faith will get you into the Kingdom of Heaven, but a great faith will bring the Kingdom of Heaven to you.’
For more information on what the bible says about Heaven, check out this link: Click Here!
posted by Brad at 8:57 AM
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