God has been revealed to us through His Son, the Holy Spirit, and through Scripture, through so many reasons why we should be excited about heaven.
Let's take a look at some reasons why we have so much to seeI'll forward it.
1. Jesus is there.
This is the best news. Jesus is there. I can't imagine what it would be like to see Jesus in the end. So that he can kneel at his feet. To see His eyes and allow us to feel the love that has not been prepared for us on earth.
I'm thinking of my friend who is experiencing something very difficult right now. Maybe you're there too – cancer, divorce, struggling to pay your bill, chronic illness. Every day must feel like a battle. But I know for sure that the moment you look into the eyes of Jesus, all the pain will disappear in an instant.
When we first met Jesus, we always thought we would cry, but now I wonder if there's a good chance that we'll laugh. With all the troublesome parts of our lives falling, do we laugh with pure and pure joy until our faces flow through tears? We are at home, and we are loved, and we become perfect, and we will join in worshiping Christ, the Lamb of God, the King of Kings, forever.
2. You have your citizenship.
You will not only see Jesus at last, but you will also become a citizen of heaven. You belong there. You are not visiting, according to your heaven passport, you are home, this is your country.
When I first came to America, I had a green card. It allowed me to live and work in the United States forever. Then I married Barry and had a son, Christian. So Barry and Christian had our passports and I had our British passports. It was fine until one day I was watching a movie about a plane being hijacked. The hijackers separated US passport holders from other passengers and forced non-US citizens to get off the plane. That's all that took. The next morning I began the process of becoming a US citizen. No one drove me out of the plane and left my family behind.
The illustrations are far from perfect, but what I want you to know is that when you are a citizen of heaven, you belong there. No one can ask you to leave.
“But we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (Philippians 3:20).
3. Your friends and family are there.
One of the most amazing things about being in heaven is to experience the biggest reunion we've ever known. We will trust Jesus and come to meet the friends and family who have gone before us. There is no fear or comparison that we are finally home.
I have the treasures of four generations of women: my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, and my sister and me. My mother told me that my great grandmother, who passed away when I was a baby, was the most divine woman she ever knew. She has never heard of any unkind words of anybody in her life. Her reaction to difficult people has always been “not sure what they are going through.” I can't wait to see her in heaven. I would like to thank her for the life she lived, the faith that carried her over the years, everyone she poured into my grandmother, and how that legacy was handed over to my mother, and to my sister and me.
Those who are lonely and lose their husbands or wives, or those who lose their parents or siblings, weigh a lot of difficulty carrying them. When the loss is sudden, there is no time to prepare or say what you want to say.
But our great hope is that we will be together again.
Think about moms and dads who have lost their children. It must be the biggest heartache of everything. I can't imagine such pain. I have seen my friend walk this devastating loss. It's as if some of them had been torn from their bodies, and it's difficult to even breathe in again. One of my friends who lost two sons told me that when pain was freshest, the fewest words should be. Thus, all we can give to each other is our existence and our gift of love.
The reunion held in heaven between mom and dad, and the children who went before them must certainly be the sweetest ones. You will see your little thing again.
4. Your spiritual hero is there.
We will not only reunite with the people we love who have passed away in front of us, but we will also meet the people we have read, those who have inspired and encouraged us.
Can you imagine knowing them as Jesus' mother, Moses, Elijah, Abraham, David, or our brothers and sisters? I think it's great to chat with CS Lewis, Tolkien, Amy Car Michael and Charles Spurgeon. I think I am most looking forward to talking to my beloved apprentice John. I love the way he realized that Jesus loved him. It is sprinkled all over through his explanation of the gospel. He calls himself in John 21:7 “The disciple Jesus loved him.” Think of all the people who shaped your life, the people of the Bible, and the books you read and the stories you hear.
I think the biggest thing is vision correction, fine tuning our focus. We put certain people on a pedestal and somehow think they are more mentally than us. It's okay to be encouraged by brothers and sisters, but there's one hero and one hero in heaven. His name is yes!
5. Peace and joy are finally yours forever.
I remember the day when I was a little girl sitting on a towel on the beach next to my mother. It was an unusually warm spring day for Scotland. There was no wind, and the ocean was glassy. The sky was blue and blue, allowing us to see the island of Aran over the water. There was still snow at the peak of Goatfell, the highest mountain. It was a perfect day. I asked my mother, “What do you think this would be like heaven?”
“A lot more,” she said.
more than this. That's what heaven will look like. more than this.
The peace you wanted.
The joy you prayed.
The rest you are tired, as all disappointments will disappear forever. more than this.
This essay was adapted from “Hope of heaven”“ Sheila Walsh©2024. Used by permission of Baker's Booka division of Baker Publishing Group.
