Heaven isn't "the big sleep", as some insist. We'll be wide awake, in the presence of Christ. Absent from the body is present with the Lord, the Bible states. There won't be any purgatory, and certainly not any "second chances". No, as it is appointed unto man to die once, and after that the judgment...and we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. That brings great joy to those who know Christ as their Saviour; it should terrify those who don't.
Revelation 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw a the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
We have a new heaven and a new earth to look forward to. God will dwell with us. And He will wipe away every tear.
There are some things that we can speculate on when we read what the Bible has to say about heaven, and there are some things that we know for sure.
We will dwell with God. He promises again and again that He will be our God, and we will be His people, and that He will dwell with us.
We will recognize our loved ones. Jesus, in His glorified body, was recognized by his friends.
We will have work to do. Creative work, fulfilling work. The Bible says in 1 Cor. 6:1-4 that we will be judging angels.
We will have no more sorrow. Life is hard here on earth. Children die young, or are born with disabilities. Infidelity, loneliness, pain, disease, corruption, regret, sadness... the list goes on. All of that will be eradicated. There will be no more sin. No more pain. No more sorrow.
We will see no more wicked and sinful things. Nothing impure will be in heaven. The only ones who will be there are those whose names are written down in the Lamb's Book of Life. Because of the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God, the coward will be changed, the vile will be holy, the immoral will be made righteous. The blood of the Lamb will wipe away our sin.
Royal posed a penetrating question to us today: "When you consider the joy of heaven, the creative work that you'll have, the fact that you'll know your loved ones and dwell with God...think about this: Could you be happy in heaven if Jesus were not there?"
Did you recoil? Did you think, "Oh, NO!"?
Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the Living Water. He is the Alpha & Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Without Him, there is no heaven.
Do you thirst for Him?
Or, are you comfortable without Him?
Listen to Rachel's Testimony, then think about these things. Eternity is a heartbeat away.
I think about heaven quite often. But I think that's because I work primarily with an elderly patient population and so I see death. Becoming old doesn't seem like an impossibility or theoretical to me. I worry that I'll wake up one day and wonder where my life has gone. It makes me very aware of where I am, right now.
ReplyDeleteI may not have it that bad down here, but there are so many things waiting for me in heaven that I think of it often. And I hope, when the time comes, that I am not afraid.
Anne, it is good to think soberly about issues like life and death, heaven and hell. It keeps us grounded. I personally want to live my life with an awareness of the eternal...because all of this really is temporary.
ReplyDeleteHere's a quote from Rachel Barkey, whose testimony I think everyone should read:
Here’s to crying when you feel happy. It’s sad that men can’t really relate because I think it is a unique reflection of the joy of the Lord. I can be sad in my circumstances but still joyful in the hope that I have: I know who I am. I know what Christ has done for me on the cross. And nothing can change my position as His child. He is so good to me…today, as I waited in the pre-op holding room, I was sad as I realized I will have two more scars on my neck and chest. My eyes started to leak (again) and He whispered to me, “I’m going to give you a glorious body someday.” It was the perfect reminder. Not just that I’m going to look better someday but that everything here is so temporary. Everything to come is more real and so much better than we can imagine. That’s why I can cry when I’m happy.Amen!
Janet, this was an amazing post! I love the strong gospel message. I do think about heaven daily and I'm looking forward to dwelling with our Saviour FOREVER. Just today I was weeping for those that I see on a daily basis who I'm afraid will perish forever with out the Lords intervention. I never really thought about the wonderful creative work that the Lord will have for us, thats an exciting thought!
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