If someone were to ask you today to describe heaven and what it is like what would you say? Are you going to give them what you think it is, or will you give them something the Bible says it is? We, as Christians, always have questions and that is a good thing. We learn by seeking God’s word and then applying His word to our own life. I have found out over the years I want God’s answer because it is always reliable. Man’s answers are not so much, but when it comes to heaven and describing it…we do not have all the answers.
Jesus came declaring the coming of the kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom that Christ rules over. A kingdom that includes all the redeemed. As believers, we look forward to life beyond this earth and in the frail tents in which we currently dwell (our body) (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Sorry to say, the Scripture does not give us a lot of information about what awaits us. But there are a few things we know about heaven. Those who get into heaven will experience transformed bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-37) Thank you God for that one. We pretty much messed up ours down here on earth. That we will no longer have pain in our bodies (revelation 21:4) I say Amen to that one! That we will be with the Lord forevermore! Praise God! That is amazing. That no matter the color of our skin, where we were born, whom we were born to, or the culture in our day…if we are His then we are brothers and sisters forever, and we will praise our God together. (Revelation 7:9) There is a lot more we can get from the scriptures, but this is all that I am listing here.
1 Corinthians 2:9 does give us a clue about heaven though, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love him.”
Can any of us grasp what heaven will be like? What God has planned for us is beyond our capacity to comprehend now. It is inexpressible to our human minds. We are not given a full picture of what heaven will be like, but we can look ahead to it with anticipation and delight.
If you were to find yourself in heaven today, what do you think your first reaction might be? I’m sure that because we are all different we would have different thoughts on this at that exact moment. “Oh, my Lord, thank you for getting me across the finish line.” I am sure that nothing I could even begin to imagine would come anywhere close to what it is like there. Would I throw myself down, would I stand in awe, what would I do? As the song goes, “I can only imagine”. I’m sure I would be in utter amazement for making it there after all the things I have done in my life…even though I know God forgave me when I confessed and repented. I don’t understand His complete love for me. The Bible says He goes after the one…I sure was in that category.
Will we be amazed at who made it to heaven? Some we thought would be there and didn’t make it, and many whom we thought never would be there made it into heaven. You see, we never really knew someone’s heart but God does and did. He sees things in us and them we never could. He saw exactly who was sorry for the things they did, really confessed them, and repented/changed course from them. We only saw the deeds they did. Whoever makes it to heaven…I know God vetted them perfectly!
I would venture to say that most people are not in a hurry to get to heaven yet because they love people here, and don’t want to leave them. What will our kids do without us? Will they make it through life? Will they find someone to love and who loves them perfectly as a spouse? Will they have enough to eat: Will they have a good job where they can care for themselves and their family? Will they stay healthy? But my own deepest concern is always… “Lord, save every one of them. Don’t let even one of them be lost, Lord.” I have not one speck of life here once I take my last breath. All I can do is pray now, tell them I love them, and leave them in God’s wonderful hands. I pray they don’t fight that or reject the Lord ever. God is so good and has done so much for us. I would have to on that day let God be God and not be that butt in mom I have been for so long.
I know that upon my leaving this earth…my old life is over and I have a whole new one in heaven with my Lord. I also know that with that last breath here and I will take my next in His presence. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
God is our upgrade! Death is an upgrade for sure if we are Christians! One thing for sure that I look forward to is never, ever, ever, ever…be tempted again to sin. My sin and your sin have been ugly. All sin is ugly. I don’t want to ever go back to that. Sin has consequences. The thing is Jesus came and took my punishment on the cross…and He took yours as well. My sin cost Him. You and I deserved that cross and yet our Lord said He would pay the price for our sins. That is amazing!
God didn’t create the world and then retire. Jesus said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Jesus found great satisfaction in His work. “‘My food,’ Jesus said, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work'” (John 4:34).
I do not know what my feelings will be in heaven, but I do believe that we will be overjoyed, laugh, rejoice, and praise our wonderful Lord. Beyond that I don’t know I’ll just wait and see. Heaven will be like being a baby all over again and spending eternity learning. We know that people in heaven have lots of feelings—all good ones. We’re told of banquets, feasts, and singing. People will laugh there (Luke 6:21). Will we cry in heaven? The Bible says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Sad crying will be no more! I do believe though that we can have tears of joy. Meeting Jesus…tears of Joy. Seeing loved ones again…tears of joy.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“I [Jesus] have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
God created us in His image. He gave us a will and the freedom of choice; we choose to disobey Him and go our own way—which is called sin. This separates us from God.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.”
Proverbs 14:12
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”
Isaiah 59:2
Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. When He did He paid the penalty for our sins and bridged the gap between us and God.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
We must trust and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”John 1:12
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”Romans 10:9
- Admit your need, Jesus. (I am a sinner)
- Be willing to turn from your sins. (Repent)
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. (Be saved by faith)
- Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive him as Lord and Savior)