So we got saved, said
the prayer and now we know that we are Heaven-bound when we die. Or do
we?
Let’s take a little
time to think about this just a bit more below the surface.
Heaven is a better
place than earth right? Yes. It is infinitely better. We are
going to enjoy ourselves thoroughly in the presence of God and the saints,
right? Absolutely.
Hey, did I forget to
remind you that it is for all of eternity? What’s 80 years divided by
eternity? To all extents and purposes, it is insignificant. Zero.
If we could just
spend a little time meditating on this truth alone and let it sink in, we’d be
clamouring to get into Heaven today. Life here would hold very little
attraction for us, yet the way many try so hard to preserve the way we live
might perhaps suggest that we don’t really fathom or believe this.
Here’s a snapshot of
Paul’s thoughts pertaining to this:
Philippians
1:21 For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I
live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet
what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the
two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24
Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (NKJV)
Yes, for as long as
he lives and breathes, it is all about Christ (Acts 17:28), about the New
Creation life (2 Cor 5:17) powering him. He says it clearly that he wants
to depart and be with Christ, which is FAR better, but the only reason he still
stays is because there will be fruit from his labour.
This concept blows my
mind. He doesn't hold on to his life because he hasn't yet been to Europe
for that once-in-a-lifetime trip. He has no “must-do-once-before-I-die”
list. He doesn't want to stay because he wants to hang on to anything
this side of Heaven. He believes that everything in Heaven will far
surpass anything this limited life can offer him.
When we start to have
a glimpse of the infinite greatness of Heaven and being with Jesus, the next
thought becomes like what my 11-year-old daughter asked me: “Why don’t we
just kill ourselves and go there now?” Can’t argue with innocent logic,
can we?
Unless we believe
that our short lives on earth can on any level compare with the riches of
Heaven, facing this belief invariably forces us to look deep and ask about the
purpose of our lives. Like Paul, the only reason we are still here would
have to be found in Him.
He has only one
purpose. That we get to know Him more all the time and realise more and
more of the love He has for us, shown to us in the finished work of Jesus on
the cross.
Ephesians
3:19 to
know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God. (NKJV)
That we can know His
boundless love, to be filled with the fullness of Him. From this love, we
find our identity, our worth, truly who we are in Christ. From hence
abounds all fruit of labour, and we like Paul will start to be the man or woman
God meant us to be, to live life as was meant by Him.
And for this we will
be rewarded richly, here and for all eternity.
I pray this thought
jogs us to meditate a little deeper on the riches of Heaven, of the glory in us
awaiting revelation:
Romans
8:18 For
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the
earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons
of God. (NKJV)
and
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (NKJV)
Blessings!
Other referenced
verses:
Acts
17:28 for
in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have
said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ (NKJV)
2
Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)
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